NEW YORK: US natural gas futures fell more than 2 percent on Tuesday in volatile trade ahead of the expiration of the November contract, pressured by profit-taking and shifting weather forecasts that pointed to softer heating demand.
Front-month gas futures for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 9.0 cents, or 2.6 percent, to USD3.35 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) as of 9:14 a.m. ET. The contract expires on Wednesday.
“With the options expiring today, there’s probably some battleground there that’s causing some of that price volatility. ... We’re just seeing some profit taking ahead of the storage report,” said Robert DiDona, president of Energy Ventures Analysis.
The US Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its weekly storage report on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT).
“This pullback is driven by short-term weather model changes, but with strong LNG demand and higher baseline consumption, there’s still upside potential. We’re bullish overall but need normal weather to support prices,” DiDona said.
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