-- US natural gas futures were down on Tuesday after four straight days of gains, amid forecasts of further declines in domestic demand and milder near-term temperatures.
Both the front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous contract were down 0.98% to $2.83 per million British thermal units.
Total natural gas demand is expected to fall by 4.0 billion cubic feet on Tuesday, to 95.4 Bcf per day, according to NRG Energy, which attributed the decline to milder weather and colder-than-average temperatures, leading to lower residential and commercial demand.
LNG export feedgas is also expected to decline to 17.3 Bcf per day, significantly below the 30-day moving average of 19.38 Bcf.
The Energy Buyer's Guide echoed similar views, noting that cooler-than-normal temperatures will persist throughout the eastern two-thirds of the country over the next two weeks, while the west is expected to be warmer-than-normal, both of which, it said, will lead to subdued natural gas demand in the near-term.