Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Natural Gas Futures Plummet 7% on Call for Average Weather

Most active February's: $2.909 down 21.8 cents.
From Investing.com:
U.S. natural gas prices sold off on Tuesday, after forecasts called for a late-January warm-up that was expected to limit demand for the heating fuel.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas for delivery in February tumbled 23.3 cents, or 7.45%, to trade at $2.894 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours, after hitting a daily low of $2.888, the weakest level since January 13.

Nymex floor trading was closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and transactions will be booked with Tuesday’s for settlement purposes. On Friday, natural gas declined 3.1 cents, or 0.98%, to settle at $3.127.

Futures were likely to find support at $2.795 per million British thermal units, the low from January 13, and resistance at $3.228, the high from January 16.

Updated weather forecasting models for the lower 48 U.S. states called for seasonal temperatures over the next two weeks. The outlook for late-January previously called for a significant cold snap.

Bearish speculators are betting on the near-normal weather reducing winter demand for the heating fuel....MORE
See also Friday's "Natural Gas: EIA Weekly Supply/Demand Report--The Cold Snap Was Met By Supply":
Our thesis this heating season is: Supply is in control. We'll have knee-jerk upticks but the massive amounts of gas available to the markets are the driver.
$3.064 last, down 0.094.
First up, a stunning factoid: