Start April natural gas futures up on El-Nino
Apr. 3, 1998 Natural gas futures prices rose sharply on April 2, on the New York Mercantile Exchange amid fears El Nino will cause a hot, uncomfortable summer across much of the country, boosting cooling demand.
Natural gas futures in recent days have been quietly moving in the opposite direction of other falling energy futures prices.
Natural gas, which is used to heat homes, also is used by utilities to generate electricity. Some forecasters are predicting much of the eastern half of the country this spring and summer will experience temperatures sharply above normal.
Record temperatures last week across much of the eastern seaboard touched off renewed speculation about the outlook for natural gas usage. Market participants noted the El Nino weather pattern to which many attribute a relatively mild winter often is followed by a hotter-than-normal summer.
Natural gas for May delivery settled 6.1 $cents higher at $ 2.561 for each 1,000 cubic feet. The contract earlier reached the highest
level since Dec. 4.
Most other energy futures also moved higher in consolidation after several days of losses tied to expectations that a world oil glut will continue.
May crude rose 20 $cents to $ 15.74 a barrel; May unleaded gasoline fell 0.1 $cent to 51.17 $cents a gallon; May heating oil rose 0.4 $cent to 43.22 $cents a gallon.
