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NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Natural gas futures surged by almost 5% Wednesday as forecasts for widespread cold across the eastern U.S. and expectations for a larger-than-normal weekly withdrawal from gas stockpiles pushed prices to their highest levels since early August.
Natural gas for January delivery settled 21.3 cents, or 4.9% higher, at $4.606 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest ending price since Aug. 4. The benchmark contract has climbed about 10% so far in December as colder-than-normal temperatures settled in across much of the eastern U.S., lifting demand expectations for the heating fuel.
"Some colder trends are apparent in the forecast today" for Dec. 18-22, meteorologists with MDA EarthSat said Wednesday. The private forecaster sees colder-than-normal temperatures for the East during the next two weeks, with daily highs below freezing for much of next week in Chicago, Cincinnati and New York City.
Meteorologists with WSI Corp. said Wednesday that the below-normal temperatures are here to stay, with another arctic blast likely around the Christmas holiday Dec. 25.
"Between now and the end of January, we could see a pretty good run out of this market," said Fain Shaffer, of Infinity Trading Corp.
The Energy Information Administration is expected to report Thursday that 84 billion cubic feet of gas was withdrawn from storage during the week ended Friday, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey of gas analysts and traders. The estimate is larger than the 74-bcf five-year average draw for the week and last year's 55-bcf withdrawal.
U.S. gas inventories stood at 3.814 trillion cubic feet as of Nov. 26, the EIA reported last week, 10% above the five-year average.
This week's report is scheduled for release Thursday at 10:30 a.m. EST.
The supply overhang has pressured the gas market lower for much of the year, leaving some market participants reluctant to bet on a typical winter rally. But the cold spell at the beginning of December has convinced some traders to buy back their bets that prices would fall.
"We've been down so far for so long, up is the path of least resistance," said Larry Young, of Covenant Trading.
"This market is so starved for any type of good news," said John Woods, a trader with JJ Woods Associates. "No one wants to get caught" holding bets that gas will fall should futures continue higher, he said
anche qui il riferimento alla media a 5 anni è -74 ... nella tabella postata era -57
buona giornata!
Natural gas for January delivery settled 21.3 cents, or 4.9% higher, at $4.606 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest ending price since Aug. 4. The benchmark contract has climbed about 10% so far in December as colder-than-normal temperatures settled in across much of the eastern U.S., lifting demand expectations for the heating fuel.
"Some colder trends are apparent in the forecast today" for Dec. 18-22, meteorologists with MDA EarthSat said Wednesday. The private forecaster sees colder-than-normal temperatures for the East during the next two weeks, with daily highs below freezing for much of next week in Chicago, Cincinnati and New York City.
Meteorologists with WSI Corp. said Wednesday that the below-normal temperatures are here to stay, with another arctic blast likely around the Christmas holiday Dec. 25.
"Between now and the end of January, we could see a pretty good run out of this market," said Fain Shaffer, of Infinity Trading Corp.
The Energy Information Administration is expected to report Thursday that 84 billion cubic feet of gas was withdrawn from storage during the week ended Friday, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey of gas analysts and traders. The estimate is larger than the 74-bcf five-year average draw for the week and last year's 55-bcf withdrawal.
U.S. gas inventories stood at 3.814 trillion cubic feet as of Nov. 26, the EIA reported last week, 10% above the five-year average.
This week's report is scheduled for release Thursday at 10:30 a.m. EST.
The supply overhang has pressured the gas market lower for much of the year, leaving some market participants reluctant to bet on a typical winter rally. But the cold spell at the beginning of December has convinced some traders to buy back their bets that prices would fall.
"We've been down so far for so long, up is the path of least resistance," said Larry Young, of Covenant Trading.
"This market is so starved for any type of good news," said John Woods, a trader with JJ Woods Associates. "No one wants to get caught" holding bets that gas will fall should futures continue higher, he said
anche qui il riferimento alla media a 5 anni è -74 ... nella tabella postata era -57
buona giornata!