Natural gas futures in New York advanced as prices near the lowest in more than six years spurred demand. A 36 percent drop in gas futures this year may be giving consumers and investors the chance to profit from storing gas now and selling it at higher prices next winter. Gas for delivery in January is about $2 higher than May futures. “It is the quintessential buyer’s market,” said Stephen Schork, president of the Schork Group Inc. in Villanova, Pennsylvania, an energy markets consultant. “Industrial users, assuming there are any still out there, are seizing upon a buying opportunity.” Natural gas for May delivery rose 1.1 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $3.573 per million British thermal units at 9:27 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are down 74 percent since reaching a 2008 high of $13.694 per million Btu on July 2. Gas for delivery in January fell 1.8 cents to $5.646. The May futures contract yesterday settled at the lowest price since September 2002. “We’re at extreme levels right now,” Schork said. “The bearish momentum has effectively exhausted itself.”

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