GAS PRICE: ABOVE $3.03
PLATTS, BLOOMBERG, OILPRICE - The NYMEX July natural gas futures contract settled 1 cent higher at $3.037/MMBtu on Tuesday, as a bullish weather outlook continued to drive up prices.
David Thompson, executive vice president of brokerage firm PowerHouse, said the increase was "most likely weather driven, as hotter waves [are] to be factored in."
The most recent eight- to 14-day weather outlook from the National Weather Service called for warmer-than-average weather for most of the US, falling in line with its most recent three-month outlook, which projected a warmer-than-average summer for the entire country.
Thompson called the "gap" between the high trade last Friday and the low trade Monday "technically significant," with the spread at 3.5 cents.
Friday's high trade of $2.94/MMBtu was a "critical support number," Thompson said, adding that the price would have to break above the $3.10/MMBtu mark to sustain a rally, as the market has "tested [that level] a few times" and come back down.
US dry gas production dropped to 71.4 Bcf/d Tuesday, down 500 MMcf/d from Monday, according to data from Platts Analytics' Bentek Energy. The overall decline reflects day-on-day dips in production in the Rockies, Northeast, Southeast and Southwest regions.
Dry gas production was expected to average 71.55 Bcf/d over the next 14 days, relatively in line with the 71.5 Bcf/d month-to-date average, according to Platts Analytics.
US demand was projected to jump in the eight- to 14-day window, coinciding with the higher temperatures forecast by the NWS, to average 66.3 Bcf/d in that period, up from 63.3 Bcf/d projected for Tuesday.
The NYMEX settlement price is considered preliminary and subject to change until a final settlement price is posted at 7 pm EDT (2300 GMT).
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