Natural gas futures gained for the first time in six days in New York amid forecasts of cold weather next week from the Midwest to the Northeast, boosting demand for the furnace fuel. Below-normal temperatures are forecast in much of the eastern half of the U.S. through Jan. 28, according to MDA Federal Inc.’s EarthSat Energy Weather. More than half of U.S. households rely on gas for heating. “Weather is about the only card the bulls can play at this point,” said Stephen Schork, president of Schork Group Inc. of Villanova, Pennsylvania. “Industrial demand is dead.” Natural gas for February delivery rose 16.9 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $4.811 per million British thermal units at 9:34 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The futures have declined 15 percent since the end of December and are down 65 percent from last year’s high of $13.694 on July 2. Chicago may have lows of minus 2 Fahrenheit (minus 19 Celsius) and New York may fall to 12 degrees by Jan. 25, the forecaster said. The typical lows are 14 degrees in Chicago and 26 in New York. A slowing economy has reduced demand from factories for natural gas, which will probably limit withdrawals from storage for last week, Schork said. Inventories of natural gas stood at 2.736 trillion cubic feet in the week ended Jan. 9, the Energy Department said last week. The surplus to the five-year average was 3.1 percent. The next update on inventories is scheduled for release Jan. 23, a day later than usual because of yesterday’s inauguration ceremonies in the U.S. The report may show that supplies declined 172 billion cubic feet, according to the median of seven analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Source