Natural gas prices extend hefty losses on forecasts for mild summer temp
Published Jul 29, 2013 01:32PM ET
Milder temperatures send prices falling on sentiments that demand for the commodity will decrease at the country's thermal power plants as fewer businesses and households crank up their air conditioning.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in September traded at USD3.485 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning trade, down 2.20%.
The September contract settled down 2.30%, at USD3.563 per million British thermal units on Thursday.
Weather forecasting services called for normal to even cooler-than-normal temperatures across much of central and eastern reaches of the country, which sent prices falling.
MDA Weather Services issued a forecast earlier calling for below-normal temperatures for much of U.S. through Aug. 12., which sent prices falling in afternoon trading on Monday.
Meanwhile, markets continued to digest Thursday's supply data, though most investors tracked weather forecasts on sentiments that a recent heat wave had already been priced into trading.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ended July 19 rose by 41 billion cubic feet, below market expectations for an increase of 46 billion cubic feet.
Total stocks now stand at 2.786 trillion cubic feet, down 399 billion cubic feet from last year at this time and 46 billion cubic feet below the five-year average the report said.
The report showed that in the East Region, stocks were 120 billion cubic feet below the five-year average, following net injections of 25 billion cubic feet.
Stocks in the Producing Region were 45 billion cubic feet above the five-year average of 980 billion cubic feet after a net injection of 12 billion cubic feet.
Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in September were up 0.13% and trading at USD104.84 a barrel, while heating oil futures for September delivery were up 0.41% at USD3.0255 per gallon.
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Written By: Investing.com
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