BS: Natural Gas Futures Little Changed on Moderating Temperatures
Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Natural gas futures were little changed in New York on forecasts of moderating temperatures in the eastern and central U.S. that may reduce demand for the heating fuel.
Gas futures were steady as normal weather is likely in most of the Northeast and Midwest from Dec. 25 to Dec. 29, according to Commodity Weather Group in Bethesda, Maryland. Temperatures in northern New England may be above-normal, the company said.
“It looks like temperatures are going to moderate a little bit,” said Mike Rose, the director of energy trading at Angus Jackson Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “We’re still very well supplied despite people having to crank up the heat over the past couple of weeks.”
Natural gas for January delivery fell 0.8 cent, or 0.2 percent, to $4.247 per million British thermal units at 9:47 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The futures have dropped 24 percent this year.
The low temperature in New York on Dec. 26 may be 38 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degree Celsius), nine degrees above normal, according to AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania. The low temperature in Detroit may be 30 degrees Fahrenheit, nine degrees above normal.
About 52 percent of U.S. households use natural gas for heating, according to the Energy Department.
Futures rose earlier after the Federal Reserve reported U.S. industrial production increased more than forecast in November, signaling economic growth that may boost fuel demand. Output at factories, mines and utilities rose 0.4 percent, the biggest gain since July, after a revised 0.2 percent drop in October.
Economists forecast a 0.3 percent gain, according to the median of 75 projections in a Bloomberg News survey.
The Energy Department may report this week that 166 billion cubic feet of gas were withdrawn from storage in the week ended Dec. 10, above the five-year average of 153 billion, according to the median of 12 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
U.S. gas stockpiles totaled 3.725 trillion cubic feet in the week ended Dec. 3, 9.8 percent above the five-year average for that week and 1.5 percent below the year-earlier level.
--With assistance from Courtney Schlisserman in Washington. Editors: Dan Stets
To contact the reporter on this story: Christine Buurma in New York at cbuurma1@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net
