Commodities
Nat-Gas Prices Rally on Hot Weather Forecasts and Smaller Storage Build
Natural gas prices surged to a one-month high on Wednesday, driven by forecasts of hot US weather that will boost demand from electricity providers. The Commodity Weather Group reported that temperatures are expected to be above average across two-thirds of the country from August 31 through September 4.
The smaller-than-expected increase in weekly US natural gas storage also supported prices. Market consensus is for a +15 bcf increase, below the five-year average of +33 bcf.
US electricity output rose 6.1% year-over-year to 100,895 GWh in the week ended August 22, while dry gas production was up 3.2% year-over-year at 111.4 bcf/day.