Investing.com – Natural gas futures edged higher on Monday, as forecasts for warmer-than-normal weather boosted demand expectations for the fuel and as investors readjusted positions ahead of the expiration of the September contract later in the day.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in September traded at USD3.915 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning trade, easing up 0.12%.
The September natural gas contract is due to expire at the end of trading on Monday.
Meanwhile, the more actively traded contract for October delivery traded at USD3.924, gaining 0.39%.
The Commodity Weather Group forecast unseasonably warm weather across most of the Midwestern U.S. states over the next six-to-ten days.
The weather group said in a report on Friday that weather trends will be in the "hotter direction” in the coming week, while adding that the “hottest anomalies may wait until the Labor Day holiday weekend" on Saturday, September 3.
Natural gas traders monitor weather forecasts to determine whether temperatures may boost heating or cooling demand.
Predictions of below-average or above-average temperatures may prompt traders to buy or sell gas futures.
Meanwhile, many natural gas producers which operate refineries on the U.S. east coast escaped major damage from Hurricane Irene, which was downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm before hitting the U.S. Northeast region on Sunday.
The U.S. Hurricane Center added that it saw no immediate threat of a Gulf of Mexico hurricane on the horizon.
Energy traders track tropical weather in the event it disrupts production in the Gulf of Mexico.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in October rallied 1.9% to trade at USD87.08 a barrel, while heating oil for October delivery climbed 0.94% to trade at USD3.035 per gallon.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in September traded at USD3.915 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning trade, easing up 0.12%.
The September natural gas contract is due to expire at the end of trading on Monday.
Meanwhile, the more actively traded contract for October delivery traded at USD3.924, gaining 0.39%.
The Commodity Weather Group forecast unseasonably warm weather across most of the Midwestern U.S. states over the next six-to-ten days.
The weather group said in a report on Friday that weather trends will be in the "hotter direction” in the coming week, while adding that the “hottest anomalies may wait until the Labor Day holiday weekend" on Saturday, September 3.
Natural gas traders monitor weather forecasts to determine whether temperatures may boost heating or cooling demand.
Predictions of below-average or above-average temperatures may prompt traders to buy or sell gas futures.
Meanwhile, many natural gas producers which operate refineries on the U.S. east coast escaped major damage from Hurricane Irene, which was downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm before hitting the U.S. Northeast region on Sunday.
The U.S. Hurricane Center added that it saw no immediate threat of a Gulf of Mexico hurricane on the horizon.
Energy traders track tropical weather in the event it disrupts production in the Gulf of Mexico.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in October rallied 1.9% to trade at USD87.08 a barrel, while heating oil for October delivery climbed 0.94% to trade at USD3.035 per gallon.