BLBG: Natural Gas Futures Advance on Signs of Stronger Demand From Power Plants
Natural gas futures climbed in New York, heading for a weekly gain, on forecasts of above-normal temperatures that may boost demand for the power-plant fuel.
Gas advanced as much as 1.9 percent after forecasters including MDA EarthSat Weather in Rockville, Maryland, predicted hotter-than-normal weather in the central and eastern U.S. through June 10. Temperatures may be up to 14 degrees above normal in parts of the southern central U.S., according to MDA.
“The return to hot weather is giving us a little bit of a psychological boost,” said Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in Chicago. “Yesterday we had a very bearish storage injection, and the warm weather was the only thing that kept the market from cracking altogether.”
Natural gas for July delivery rose 7.4 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $4.434 per million British thermal units at 9:10 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gas has gained 4.7 percent so far this week.
To contact the reporter on this story: Christine Buurma in New York at cbuurma1@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net
