From Reuters:
UPDATE 3-US natgas futures gain for 4th day, front posts 2012 high
* Cool extended weather outlook backs recent gains
* Above average nuclear plant outages also lend support
* Front-month futures gain nearly 19 pct in Sept
(Releads, adds analyst quote, rig data, production data,
updates prices)
By Joe Silha
NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures ended
higher on Friday for a fourth straight session, with the
front-month contract notching a 2012 high on cooler weather
forecasts for next month that should boost heating demand.
After early pressure from profit taking, prices climbed late
even though data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration
that showed gas output rose in July in the lower 48 states.
While extended forecasts show cooler weather slipping into
the Midwest and possibly the East in early or mid-October, many
traders and analysts remained skeptical of the upside with
storage and production still at or near record highs.
"When you look at the fundamentals, it doesn't seem like
these prices will last. There are below average temperatures
expected by the middle of October which suggest more heating
load, but it's not anywhere near peak winter demand," said
Summit Energy analyst Eric Bickel in Kentucky.
Front-month gas futures on the New York Mercantile
Exchange ended up 2.3 cents at $3.32 per million British thermal
units after climbing late to a 2012 high of $3.33.
The front month is up 17 percent in the last four sessions.
It would be the biggest four-day gain in more than three months,
but much of the increase occurred on Wednesday, when November
took over front position with a 20-cent premium to the expiring
October contract.
For September, the nearby contract posted an 18.6 percent
rise, the biggest monthly gain in three years.
A third-quarter price gain of almost 18 percent was decent
but well short of the 33 percent spike in the previous quarter...MORE
