BLBG: Natural Gas Is Little Changed as Recession Weighs on Demand
Natural gas futures were little changed in New York on signs demand for the heating and industrial fuel will be slack in the coming months as the recession lingers.
Gas may fall after a member of President Barack Obama’s administration said automakers General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC may have to seek bankruptcy. Industrial users and power plants each account for about 29 percent of gas consumption, Energy Department data show.
“The stuff with the car manufacturers may have come as a surprise,” said Michael Rose, a director of trading at Angus Jackson Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “A restructuring has implications for all energy” commodities.
Natural gas for May delivery fell 0.2 cent to $3.735 per million British thermal units at 9:31 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gas futures have declined 32 percent this year.
Production at factories, mines and utilities in the U.S. dropped 1.4 percent in February after a revised 1.9 percent decline in January, the Federal Reserve said March 16.
