Natural gas is set for the biggest annual gain in eight years in New York amid speculation a cold start to 2014 in the U.S. may boost demand for the heating fuel.
Futures for February delivery rose as much as 0.4 percent to $4.446 per million British thermal units in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange .It climbed 1.4 percent to $4.427 yesterday. The volume of all contracts traded was about 82 percent less than the 100-day average. Prices are up 33 percent this year, the most since an 83 percent surge in 2005.
Commodity Weather Group LLC predicted a push of below-normal temperatures into the Northeast, Midwest and South through Jan. 8. The high in New York City on Jan. 3 will be 18 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 8 Celsius), 21 below normal, according to AccuWeather Inc.
Gas is headed for a second annual advance amid shrinking supplies in the U.S. Stockpiles have fallen by 763 billion cubic feet, or 20 percent, to 3.071 trillion in the six weeks through Dec. 20, data from the Energy Information Administration show. That’s the lowest level since August.
About 49 percent of U.S. households use gas for heating, according to the EIA, the Energy Department’s statistical arm. Winter in the Northern Hemisphere is the peak demand period in the lower 48 states.
