NEW YORK: US natural gas futures eased about 1% to a one-week low on Tuesday on low cash prices, an increase in output so far this month and higher-than-normal amounts of gas in storage. That price decline occurred despite a drop in gas output in recent days and forecasts for the weather to remain hotter than normal through late July, which should lead power generators to keep burning high amounts of gas to meet demand for air conditioning.
Front-month gas futures for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) fell 2.8 cents, or 0.8%, to $3.384 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), keeping the contract on track for its lowest close since June 26. With gas futures down about 8% last week, speculators cut their net long futures and options positions on the New York Mercantile and Intercontinental exchanges for the first time in three weeks to their lowest levels since mid-June, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Commitments of Traders report showed.