Natural Gas Futures Dip on Profit Taking
US natural gas futures fell on Friday due to profit taking ahead of the weekend. The price slipped by 2.6 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $2.888 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). This decline comes after prices surged to a more than one-month high in the previous session.
Robert DiDona, president of Energy Ventures Analysis, attributed the decrease to sell-side interest following this week's price response. He stated that there might be some bid interest coming back towards the end of the day and pushing the price back towards a break-even level.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that energy firms added 15 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas to storage during the week ended August 21. This figure was lower than analysts' forecast of a 20-bcf build in a Reuters poll and compares with an injection of 17 bcf during the same week last year.
Meteorologists predict mostly warmer-than-normal temperatures through September 11, which could contribute to higher energy demand.