US natural gas futures gained less than 1 percent, after falling to a near four-year low last week, on forecasts for colder weather and higher heating demand in February, record liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and a continued slowdown in daily output.
The gain was down from a 4 percent increase Monday morning after meteorologists issued their midday outlook, which called for less cold over the next two weeks than earlier expected.
Front-month gas futures for February delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) rose 0.9 cent, or 0.5 percent, to settle at $1.902 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). On Friday, the contract closed at its lowest level since March 2016.
Since hitting an eight-month high of $2.905 per mmBtu in early November, futures have collapsed 35 percent. Near record production and mild weather have enabled utilities to leave more gas in storage, making shortages and winter price spikes much less likely.
Lack of worry about supplies caused speculators to boost short positions on the NYMEX to an all-time high for a second time in a row last week, which increased their net shorts on the NYMEX and Intercontinental Exchange to the highest on record, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data going back to 2010. – Reuters
