US GAS: Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of EIA Storage Data
11/05/2009 08:47AM
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HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--Natural gas futures edged higher Thursday ahead of a U.S. government report on natural gas storage amid concerns that Hurricane Ida could reach the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
Natural gas for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange recently traded 2 cents, or 0.42%, higher at $4.745 a million British thermal units. The front-month contract fell as low as $4.676/MMBtu in earlier trading.
Traders were adjusting their positions Thursday ahead of a weekly update on natural gas storage. Analysts and traders are expecting the U.S. Energy Information Administration to report that natural gas in storage grew by 31 billion cubic feet last week, according to the average of estimates in a Dow Jones Newswires survey.
"Ahead of any storage numbers you will see some buyers and sellers come into the market," said Mike Rose, director of the energy trading desk for the Fort Lauderdale-based brokerage Angus Jackson.
Natural gas in U.S. storage for the week ended Oct. 23 stood at an all-time high of 3.759 trillion feet--11% higher than last year and 12.4% above the five-year average. The expected injection this week would lift storage levels to a new high, bringing the stockpiles closer to estimated storage capacity of 3.889 trillion cubic feet.
The EIA is scheduled to release its storage data Thursday at 10:30 a.m. EST.
Forecasters were also monitoring Hurricane Ida, which made landfall in Nicaragua Thursday morning. While some weather models show Ida moving into the Gulf of Mexico, forecasters said it was unlikely to threaten the energy infrastructure there.
"We have never had a hurricane reach the production area this late in the season and, with the high wind shear, that would be very difficult," Matt Rogers, a meteorologist with the private forecasting firm Commodity Weather Group, said.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service forecast for Nov. 11 to Nov. 17 calls for above normal temperatures in the Northeast and the Midwest.
Mild temperatures in those regions can stifle natural gas demand for heating homes and businesses.
-By Jason Womack, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9201; jason.womack@dowjones.com