Natural Gas Futures Options Trading
CALL 1-888-456-8090 TO BEGIN TRADING TODAY!INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS CALL 1-541-773-5741
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Natural Gas Futures Options TradingCALL 1-888-456-8090 TO BEGIN TRADING TODAY!INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS CALL 1-541-773-5741 |
Natural Gas Falls, Heading for Lowest Annual Close Since 2002 December 31st, 2008Natural gas futures fell in New York, heading for the lowest close since 2002, amid concern that the U.S. recession will reduce demand. The heating and industrial fuel dropped as the Labor Department reported total jobless rolls reached a 26-year high, signaling a worsening labor market as the economy heads into the second year of a recession. There are “ongoing concerns about how much industrial demand has been lost,” said Tom Orr, research director at Weeden & Co. in Greenwich, Connecticut. “The psychological backdrop for natural gas is negative, the fundamental backdrop is negative.” Natural gas for February delivery fell 17.6 cents, or 3 percent, to $5.683 per million British thermal units at 10:52 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures have dropped 24 percent this year and are set to end the year below $6 per million Btu for the first time since 2002. Crude oil for February delivery fell 19 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $38.84 a barrel at 10:53 a.m. in New York. Futures are down 60 percent this year. The U.S. Energy Department is scheduled to issue the weekly supply report at noon New York time. The median forecast of 14 analysts surveyed is for a stockpile decline of 156 billion cubic feet in the week ended Dec. 26. A drop that size would put inventories at 2.864 trillion cubic feet. Industrial Use DeclinesA recession in the U.S. has reduced demand from industrial users of the fuel, keeping supplies at above-average amounts for this time of year. Usage also slows in the U.S. over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays as more facilities close.Confidence among U.S. consumers dropped in December to a record low, raising the risk that spending will keep weakening into 2009. “People focused on the supply side for a while, now there are a lot of question marks on the demand side,” said Orr. “A lot of retailers have filed for bankruptcy. There is still an unknown amount of loss there.” The Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence fell to 38, the lowest level since records began in 1967, from 44.7 in November, the New York-based private research group said yesterday. - Aaron Clark in New York at Bloomberg. Click here for your Free Natural Gas Futures Trading eGuide |
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