Reply #91: Natural-gas futures hold at $7 mark [View All]

[UpInArms]

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BC490307E%2D24C0%2D452A%2DB772%2D2FC473D1B521%7D&siteid=mktw&symbol=

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Natural-gas futures fell, holding tight to the $7 mark Thursday with traders eyeing the prospect that supplies may end the heating season at a record, but weary of steep losses in the March contract's price, which has touched one-year intraday lows everyday for almost a week.

"You might say that we have gas to burn," said James Williams, an economist at WTRG Economics.

Supplies in storage reported Thursday were 44% higher that the five-year average for the same time of year, and the market will "almost certainly end the heating season at with a record level of gas left in storage," he said.

Natural gas for March delivery climbed as high as $7.23 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange before pulling back to $7.02, down 4.6 cents.

Prices for the contract fell to $6.975 on Wednesday to mark a fresh one-year low. Every trading day from Feb. 9 through Feb. 15, they've touched intraday lows not seen since February of last year.

U.S. natural-gas stocks fell by 102 billion cubic feet for the week ended Feb. 10, the Energy Department reported Thursday.

Overall, estimates for the report ranged up to more than 100 billion, according to Fimat USA. But analyst Michael Fitzpatrick said Fimat had "significant doubt that those types of draws" would be seen, and was expecting a decline of only 59 billion.

...more...