Forexpros – Natural gas futures were up for a third day on Wednesday, climbing to a one-week high as colder-than-normal weather forecasts across most parts of the U.S. boosted heating demand expectations for the fuel.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for November delivery traded at USD3.622 per million British thermal units during European morning trade, edging 0.15% higher.
It earlier rose by as much as 0.25% to trade at USD3.626 per million British thermal units, the highest price since October 5.
After a warmer-than-normal start to October, which drove prices to an 11-month low on Monday, forecasters are now projecting cooler temperatures across most parts of the U.S. over the next two weeks.
The Commodity Weather Group said on Tuesday that the U.S. Northeast states may cool just enough to produce “above-normal” demand for natural gas during the next two weeks.
In the firm’s 11-to-15 day weather outlook, CWG said that the mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S. states will be cooler-than-normal until October 25.
“This should provide above-normal early season heating demand, but no major chill is expected,” the weather group said in a report.
Natural-gas prices have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting forecasts for late-September and October on heating demand.
Demand is typically low in the so-called autumn “shoulder season,” the period after consumers shut off air conditioning but before heating kicks in.
Markets were looking forward to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on U.S. natural gas stockpiles for the week ended October 7 on Thursday.
The report was expected to show that U.S. natural gas inventories increased by 103 billion cubic feet, after adding 97 billion cubic feet in the preceding week.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in November rose 0.47% to trade at USD86.21 a barrel, while heating oil for November delivery gained 0.69% to trade at USD2.924 per gallon.
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