Natural gas futures closed out the day nearly unchanged Friday, despite starting out the day higher based on weather forecasts that hinted at cooler weather around the corner.
Natural gas for December delivery settled up 0.5 cent, or 0.1%, to $3.783 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Industry weather group MDA Federal said Friday that it expected mostly milder-than-normal temperatures across the U.S. Northeast states over the next six-to-ten days.
Natural gas prices have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting forecasts for late October and early November on heating demand.
A large supply in inventories has kept prices in check as well. On Thursday, the EIA released that working natural gas in storage rose to 3,794 as of Friday, October 28. This represents a 78 Bcf implied net injection. Inventories are now 17 Bcf below their year-ago levels and 201 Bcf above the 5-year (2006-2010) average. This week’s injection is more than twice as large as the five-year average injection of 35 Bcf.
The end of October marks the traditional end of the injection season and the beginning of the winter heating season, though often, relatively small injections continue into November. In fact, for the next two upcoming storage injection report weeks, the 5-year average is a positive number, representing a net injection.
Forecasts may vary, but your business’ electricity rate doesn’t have to. When it comes to buying electricity, timing is everything. At Live Energy, we keep our finger on the market’s pulse—locking in a low rate with the right electricity provider has never been easier. For more information on how we can help you find the right electricity plan for your business, contact us at (877) 810-7770 today.
