CO:Barclays: Scorching heat adds fire to US natural gas
LONDON (Commodity Online):Natural gas prices edged up after the long weekend as predicted scorching heat has not left the forecast. The prompt contract rose 5 cents to $4.36/MMBtu, while calendar 2011 and calendar 2012 moved up 4 and 3 cents and finished at $4.48 and $4.84, respectively.
Cooling degree days for the first half of July are expected to show very positive deviations from seasonal norms for most of the country. Injections for the next two weeks are expected to be relatively in line with last year's builds, of about 80 Bcf.
Cash prices on the day posted some large gains due to the expected upcoming heat waves, as Henry Hub closed at $4.40, up by 7 cents. SoCal Border rose 16 cents to $4.55 and Transco-Z6 jumped 20 cents to $4.86.
