Natural gas edged lower early Wednesday, dropping for a third-straight day even as forecasts expect most states to see hotter than normal temperatures, boosting cooling demand.
Gas for July delivery was last seen down $0.01 to US$3.16 per million British thermal units.
The drop comes despite long-term forecasts from the National Weather Service that expect all states to see seasonal or hotter weather over its six to 10 day outlook, with hotter than usual temperatures in the big markets of the Upper Midwest and Northeast.
The hot weather is likely to boost the call on gas-powered generation for air conditioning, though inventories of the fuel remain robust. In its weekly survey, the Energy Information Administration last week said stocks of the fuel stood at 2.48-trillion cubic feet, 6.2% higher than the five-year average.