Another good day for natural gas prices - June 26

[dan_s]

Closing Prices:
> Prompt-Month WTI (Aug 23) was up $0.21 on the day, to settle at $69.37
> Prompt-Month Henry Hub (Jul 23) was up $0.062 on the day, to settle at $2.791 < AUG23 contract closed at $2.879

Trading Economics:
"US natural gas futures surged above $2.7/MMBtu, the highest in 15 weeks driven by a combination of diminished supply and increased demand. Meteorological predictions of predominantly hotter-than-normal weather conditions spanning from June 24 to July 8 elevate the demand for power generation, particularly for air conditioning purposes. On the supply side, domestic gas output is declining from the record level of 102.5 bcfd seen in May due in part to ongoing maintenance activities affecting pipelines in the Haynesville shale region, spanning across Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, as well as other basins. However, gas flowing to US LNG export plants has decreased due to maintenance work carried out at several sites, including Cheniere Energy Inc's Sabine Pass in Louisiana and Freeport LNG in Texas. Last week, natural gas prices advanced 4%, the third consecutive week of gains."

Each year the U.S. relies more on natural gas fired power plants for electricity. Utilities are back in the futures market buy long NYMEX contracts to take physical delivery of the gas in July, August and September.