Natural Gas 09:29 AM EST, 01/12/2022 (MT Newswires) -- Benchmark natural gas rose to the highest in nearly six weeks early on Wednesday as long-term forecast see cold weather for key markets in the Northeast and Midwest.
Gas for February delivery was last seen up US$0.20 to US$4.44 per million British thermal units.
The rise to the highest since Nov.30 came as forecasts from the National Weather Service see colder than normal weather for much of the Northeast and Upper Midwest for the next two weeks.
The colder weather will boost heating demand for gas, following a warmer than usual December that limited the draw on US inventories amid rising supply. The Energy Information Administration's Short-Term Energy Outlook, released Tuesday, said US gas production averaged 93.5-billion cubic feet per day in 2021 and is expected to average 96-billion bcf per day in 2022. It expects inventories will stand at 1.8-trillion cubic feet at the end of March, 8% higher than the five year average.