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Business Recorder
7 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
US natgas prices jump on lower output, higher demand
NEW YORK: US natural gas futures jumped about 8% to a three-week high on Monday on a drop in output forecasts for warmer weather and higher demand this week than previously expected. Analysts said gas prices also gained some support from a 5% increase in US oil futures after OPEC+ kept its output increase unchanged. Gas futures for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 27.3 cents, or 7.9%, to $3.72 per million British thermal units, putting the contract on track for its highest close since May 9. Even though gas futures rose 3% last week, speculators cut their net long futures and options positions on the New York Mercantile and Intercontinental exchanges for a second week in a row to their lowest since December 2024, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Commitments of Traders report showed.
Business Recorder
05-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
US natgas prices edge up on lower output, higher demand
NEW YORK: US natural gas futures edged up about 1% to a three-week high on Monday on a drop in output in recent weeks and forecasts for more demand this week than previously expected. Gas futures for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 2.7 cents, or 0.7%, to $3.657 per million British thermal units, putting the contract on track for its highest close since April 9 for a second day in a row. Looking forward, the premium of futures for July over June rose to a record 33 cents per mmBtu. Even though gas futures jumped about 24% last week, speculators cut their net long futures and options positions on the New York Mercantile and Intercontinental exchanges for an eighth week in a row to the lowest since January, according to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Commitments of Traders report. Analysts said mild weather expected to last through late-May should keep heating and cooling demand low, allowing utilities to continue injecting more gas into storage than normal for this time of year. Gas stockpiles were around 1% above the five-year normal. Gas stockpiles had been below normal from mid-January through late April after utilities pulled a monthly record 1.013 billion cubic feet of gas from storage in January to keep homes and businesses warm during extreme cold weather this winter. Some analysts said mild weather and record output this spring could allow energy firms to add record amounts of gas into storage in May. The current all-time monthly injection high of 494 bcf was set in May 2015. Financial firm LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 US states fell to 103.7 billion cubic feet per day so far in May, down from a monthly record of 105.8 bcfd in April. Since gas output hit a daily record high of 17.4 bcfd on April 18, production was on track to drop by around 3.9 bcfd to a preliminary 10-week low of 103.5 bcfd on Monday. That, however, was a smaller daily decline than LSEG forecast on Friday. Analysts have noted that preliminary data is often revised later in the day. Meteorologists projected temperatures in the Lower 48 states would remain mostly warmer than normal through May 20.
Business Recorder
28-04-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
US natural gas down on mild weather
NEW YORK: US natural gas futures slid 2% to a five-month low on Friday on rising output and forecasts for mild weather through mid-May that will limit heating and cooling demand, allowing utilities to keep putting more gas than usual into storage. On its last day as the front-month, gas futures for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 7.0 cents, or 2.4%, to $2.867 per million British thermal units at 8:46 a.m. EDT (1246 GMT), putting the contract on track for its lowest since November 15. That kept the front-month in technically oversold territory for an eighth day in a row for the first time since February 2024. The June contract, which will soon be the front-month, was down about 1.5% to $3.11 per mmBtu. One factor pressuring prices in recent weeks has been fast growth in the amount of gas in storage. After falling below normal levels in mid-January, analysts project gas inventories will rise over the five-year average in the next week or two. After cold weather in January and February boosted demand for gas, the total amount in storage was about 1% below normal for this time of year. Looking ahead, the premium of March 2026 futures over April 2026, which the industry calls the widow maker, fell to its lowest since April 2021, while the premium of the November 2025 contract over October 2025 rose to its highest since February 2024. The industry calls the March-April spread the 'widow maker' because rapid price moves resulting from changing weather forecasts have forced some speculators out of business, including the Amaranth hedge fund, which lost more than $6 billion in 2006. The industry uses the March-April and October-November spreads to bet on winter weather forecasts since March is the last month of the winter heating season when utilities pull gas out of storage and October is the last month of the summer cooling season when utilities inject gas into storage. With gas futures down about 33% over the past seven weeks, speculators cut their net long futures and options positions on the New York Mercantile and Intercontinental exchanges for a seventh week in a row to their lowest since January, according to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Commitments of Traders report.
