NEO_99
Forumer storico
May 25 (Bloomberg) -- Natural gas futures rose to the highest price in three weeks as forecasts showed hotter-than- normal weather in the U.S. East and Midwest, raising demand for the power-plant fuel to run air conditioners.
Gas advanced 0.8 percent as forecasters including Commodity Weather Group LLC in Bethesda, Maryland, said temperatures will be higher than normal through June 8. The Energy Department may say tomorrow that gas stockpiles rose 95 billion cubic feet last week, according to the median of 19 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The five-year average change for the week is an increase of 95 billion.
“I do think we will continue higher into this summer,” said Carl Neill, an energy consultant at Risk Management Inc. in Atlanta. “Gas tends to rise at this time of the year.”
Natural gas for June delivery advanced 3.4 cents to $4.379 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement level since May 4. June options expired today and futures expire tomorrow. The July gas contract gained 3.2 cents to $4.423.
“The expiration of options and futures sometimes adds volatility to the market,” said Neill.
June $4.40 calls were the most active options in electronic trading. The calls fell 1.3 cents to 0.3 cent per million Btu on volume of 652 lots.
Hot Weekend Weather
A surge of heat is moving into the “Midwest and then the East this weekend into next week,” Matt Rogers, a forecaster with Commodity Weather Group LLC in Bethesda, Maryland, said in a report today. “Widespread coverage of 90-degree temperatures is a reasonable expectation, and it would be the hottest event so far this season.”
The high in New York on May 27 may be 84 degrees Fahrenheit (29 Celsius), 10 degrees above normal, according to AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania. The high in Dallas may be 90 degrees, 3 above normal.
Power plants use about 30 percent of the nation’s gas supplies, according to the Energy Department.
“The fundamental story of near-term strength remains based on higher-than-normal nuclear outages and some early season heat settling in over the next two weeks,” James R. Crandell, an analyst with Barclays Capital in New York, said in a note to clients today.
Nuclear Power
U.S. nuclear-power production increased by 1,565 megawatts nationwide, or 2 percent, from yesterday to 79,482 megawatts, down 15 percent from a year ago, according to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report today and data compiled by Bloomberg.
Output declined to 68,248 megawatts on May 2, the lowest level since 1999.
Gas stockpiles gained 92 billion cubic feet in the week ended May 13 to 1.919 trillion cubic feet, the Energy Department said last week.
Storage levels were down 11 percent from a year earlier, narrowing from 12 percent the previous week, department data showed.
Gas futures volume in electronic trading on the Nymex was 176,271 as of 2:42 p.m., compared with the three-month average of 308,000. Volume was 252,053 yesterday. Open interest was 915,318 contracts. The three-month average open interest is 944,000.
Gas advanced 0.8 percent as forecasters including Commodity Weather Group LLC in Bethesda, Maryland, said temperatures will be higher than normal through June 8. The Energy Department may say tomorrow that gas stockpiles rose 95 billion cubic feet last week, according to the median of 19 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The five-year average change for the week is an increase of 95 billion.
“I do think we will continue higher into this summer,” said Carl Neill, an energy consultant at Risk Management Inc. in Atlanta. “Gas tends to rise at this time of the year.”
Natural gas for June delivery advanced 3.4 cents to $4.379 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement level since May 4. June options expired today and futures expire tomorrow. The July gas contract gained 3.2 cents to $4.423.
“The expiration of options and futures sometimes adds volatility to the market,” said Neill.
June $4.40 calls were the most active options in electronic trading. The calls fell 1.3 cents to 0.3 cent per million Btu on volume of 652 lots.
Hot Weekend Weather
A surge of heat is moving into the “Midwest and then the East this weekend into next week,” Matt Rogers, a forecaster with Commodity Weather Group LLC in Bethesda, Maryland, said in a report today. “Widespread coverage of 90-degree temperatures is a reasonable expectation, and it would be the hottest event so far this season.”
The high in New York on May 27 may be 84 degrees Fahrenheit (29 Celsius), 10 degrees above normal, according to AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania. The high in Dallas may be 90 degrees, 3 above normal.
Power plants use about 30 percent of the nation’s gas supplies, according to the Energy Department.
“The fundamental story of near-term strength remains based on higher-than-normal nuclear outages and some early season heat settling in over the next two weeks,” James R. Crandell, an analyst with Barclays Capital in New York, said in a note to clients today.
Nuclear Power
U.S. nuclear-power production increased by 1,565 megawatts nationwide, or 2 percent, from yesterday to 79,482 megawatts, down 15 percent from a year ago, according to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report today and data compiled by Bloomberg.
Output declined to 68,248 megawatts on May 2, the lowest level since 1999.
Gas stockpiles gained 92 billion cubic feet in the week ended May 13 to 1.919 trillion cubic feet, the Energy Department said last week.
Storage levels were down 11 percent from a year earlier, narrowing from 12 percent the previous week, department data showed.
Gas futures volume in electronic trading on the Nymex was 176,271 as of 2:42 p.m., compared with the three-month average of 308,000. Volume was 252,053 yesterday. Open interest was 915,318 contracts. The three-month average open interest is 944,000.
