SEPT 20 SATURDAY
Natural Gas Declines as Supplies May Be Ample Before Winter .
Natural gas futures fell for a second day in New York amid
speculation that U.S. production will be strong enough between
now and Nov. 1 to ensure ample supplies to meet cold-weather
demand.
Inventories advanced 67 billion cubic feet in the week ended
Sept. 12 to 2.972 trillion cubic feet, putting supplies 2.1 percent
above the five-year average, according to the U.S. Energy
Deoartment.
Natural gas for October delivery fell 9 cents, or 1.2 percent, to settle
at $7.531 per million British thermal units at 3:12 p.m. on the New
York Mercantile Exchange. Prices rose 2.2 percent this week.
Gas supplies last week were 2.1 percent above the five-year
average, the department said yesterday. The surplus narrowed
from 2.9 percent in last week's report. The five-year average
for gas in storage at the start of the cold-weather-demand
period on Nov. 1 is 3.327 trillion cubic feet.
Speculators and consumers of the heating and industrial fuel
are banking on increased onshore production to bolster
output and keep prices from running higher.
Domestic gas output is expected to increase by 7.8 percent this
year, particularly from fields in Texas and Wyoming, the Energy
Department said in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook
on Sept. 9.
Crude oil has dropped 13 percent this month and gasoline
has fallen 16 percent.
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