09:31 AM EST, 12/03/2021 (MT Newswires) -- Benchmark natural gas prices rose off three-month lows early on Friday as long-term forecasts moderate.
Gas for January delivery was last seen up US$0.12 to US$4.18 per million British thermal units.
The drop comes as long-term forecasts from the National Weather Service now see seasonal or cooler than normal temperatures for western states and the Upper Midwest over the next six to ten days, though the populous eastern states will be warmer than usual over the forecast period.
The moderating forecast comes a day after the Energy Information Administration reported U.S. gas inventories fell 59-billion cubic feet last week, meeting expectations, leaving stocks 2.4% under the five-year average.
"Weather remains the story ... with the outlook for December looking increasingly warm in updates over the past week or so," Matt Murphy, an analyst with Tudor, Pickering and Holt, said in a note. "Week-over-week, ResComm demand looks to shift to ~1bcfd lower than the 5-year avg. vs. the prior week's above average draw which saw ~4bcfd above average demand. For next week's print, our preliminary modeling points towards a 56bcf draw - in-line with the 5-year avg. - as robust power generation continues to support weaker heating demand."