Investing.com - Natural gas futures trimmed earlier gains to trade little changed during U.S. morning trade on Wednesday, as floor trading on the NYMEX reopened amid concerns over a slowdown in near-term demand in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in December traded at USD3.7696 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning trade, easing up 0.15%.
It earlier rose by as much as 2.3% to trade at a session high of USD3.779 per million British thermal units. Futures fell to USD3.658 per million British thermal units on Tuesday, the weakest for the December contract since October 19.
Floor trading on the Nymex resumed Wednesday, along with U.S. equity markets, following a two-day closure for Hurricane Sandy.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said earlier in the day that Sandy weakened to a surface trough as it passed over western Pennsylvania.
Receding concerns over the super-storm prompted some of the region’s nuclear reactors to resume operations.
Nuclear outages totaled nearly 30,700 megawatts early Wednesday, or 30% of U.S. capacity, down from 32,000 megawatts out on Tuesday. The five-year average for this time of year is an outage rate of about 22,600 megawatts.
Gains were limited as millions of people remained without power along the East Coast, underlining concerns over a slowdown in near-term demand.
Ongoing worries over bloated inventory levels also limited gains. Total U.S. gas supplies stood at 3.843 trillion cubic feet as of last week, a level not reached in 2011 until November 16.
U.S. gas inventories are 4.1% above last year’s level and 7% above the five-year average for the week.
Concerns remain that U.S. inventories will end the injection-season on October 31 above the record high of 3.852 trillion cubic feet, set last year.
The EIA projected earlier in the month that natural gas stocks are expected to hit a fresh record high of 3.903 trillion cubic feet on October 31, 2012.
Early injection estimates for this week’s storage data range from 61 billion cubic feet to 74 billion cubic feet, compared to last year's build of 82 billion cubic feet. The five-year average change for the week is an increase of 57 billion cubic feet.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said it will postpone the release of its weekly report on natural gas stockpiles from Thursday due to storm-related delays. The data may be published November 2nd, according to the EIA.
Natural gas futures often reach a seasonal low in October, when mild weather reduces demand, before recovering in the winter, when heating-fuel use peaks.
The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.
Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in December rallied 1.35% to trade at USD86.81 a barrel, while heating oil for December delivery added 0.25% to trade at USD3.076 per gallon.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in December traded at USD3.7696 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning trade, easing up 0.15%.
It earlier rose by as much as 2.3% to trade at a session high of USD3.779 per million British thermal units. Futures fell to USD3.658 per million British thermal units on Tuesday, the weakest for the December contract since October 19.
Floor trading on the Nymex resumed Wednesday, along with U.S. equity markets, following a two-day closure for Hurricane Sandy.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said earlier in the day that Sandy weakened to a surface trough as it passed over western Pennsylvania.
Receding concerns over the super-storm prompted some of the region’s nuclear reactors to resume operations.
Nuclear outages totaled nearly 30,700 megawatts early Wednesday, or 30% of U.S. capacity, down from 32,000 megawatts out on Tuesday. The five-year average for this time of year is an outage rate of about 22,600 megawatts.
Gains were limited as millions of people remained without power along the East Coast, underlining concerns over a slowdown in near-term demand.
Ongoing worries over bloated inventory levels also limited gains. Total U.S. gas supplies stood at 3.843 trillion cubic feet as of last week, a level not reached in 2011 until November 16.
U.S. gas inventories are 4.1% above last year’s level and 7% above the five-year average for the week.
Concerns remain that U.S. inventories will end the injection-season on October 31 above the record high of 3.852 trillion cubic feet, set last year.
The EIA projected earlier in the month that natural gas stocks are expected to hit a fresh record high of 3.903 trillion cubic feet on October 31, 2012.
Early injection estimates for this week’s storage data range from 61 billion cubic feet to 74 billion cubic feet, compared to last year's build of 82 billion cubic feet. The five-year average change for the week is an increase of 57 billion cubic feet.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said it will postpone the release of its weekly report on natural gas stockpiles from Thursday due to storm-related delays. The data may be published November 2nd, according to the EIA.
Natural gas futures often reach a seasonal low in October, when mild weather reduces demand, before recovering in the winter, when heating-fuel use peaks.
The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.
Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in December rallied 1.35% to trade at USD86.81 a barrel, while heating oil for December delivery added 0.25% to trade at USD3.076 per gallon.