Nat-Gas Prices Tumble Ahead of Texas Pipeline's September Debut

Natural gas prices fell on Friday ahead of the scheduled opening of the Hugh Brinson pipeline in Texas. The pipeline, set to begin service on September 1, will transport about 2.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/day) of gas from the Permian Basin to East Texas.

The pipeline's opening could boost domestic natural gas supplies at the Henry Hub in Erath, Louisiana, where benchmark US gas futures are traded. However, losses in natural gas prices were limited due to hot weather forecasted for next week, which may increase demand from electricity providers to power air-conditioning use.

According to the Commodity Weather Group, above-average temperatures are expected across two-thirds of the US from September 2-11. The Edison Electric Institute reported a 6.1% year-over-year increase in US electricity output for the week ended August 22.