Temperatures

January natural gas is set to open 2 cents lower Wednesday morning at $4.38 as traders match forecasts of renewed cold with what is likely to be the first triple-digit withdrawal of the young heating season. Overnight oil markets slipped.

October natural gas is set to to open a penny higher Friday morning at $3.83 as traders engage in nominal short-covering before the weekend. Overnight oil markets were narrowly mixed.

October natural gas is set to open a penny lower Thursday morning at $3.84 as traders prepare for a government storage report that is expected to be one of the thinner ones of the injection season but well above historical averages. Overnight oil markets worked lower.

The expiring September natural gas contract is expected to open 4 cents higher Wednesday morning at $3.95 as traders absorb forecasts of ongoing warm temperatures into their plans. Overnight oil markets rose.

August natural gas is expected to open 3 cents lower Monday morning at $4.12 as traders prepare for an onslaught of cooler temperatures that are expected to impact major eastern and Midwest population centers. Overnight oil markets were mixed.

August natural gas is hovering unchanged at $4.170 prior to the market’s open as bulls factor in a near-term constructive weather outlook, but bears look for a continued reduction in the storage deficit once government figures are reported. Overnight oil markets were mixed.

July natural gas is set to open 3 cents lower Tuesday morning at $4.68 as traders admit Thursday’s price advance may have been a little overdone and anticipate volatile weather-driven trading in the weeks ahead. Overnight oil markets were narrowly mixed.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said temperatures are expected to be below normal this spring for about half of the Lower 48 states, but they will be above normal for the other half plus Alaska.

Most of the United States will experience a reprieve over the next three months from what has been an unusually harsh winter, but big natural gas demand areas across the Northeast can expect temperatures to average below normal until May, according to forecasters at Weather Services International (WSI).