nvesting.com - U.S. natural gas futures fell to the lowest level in nearly two weeks on Monday, as traders reacted to the reality that higher summer demand for the commodity is coming to an end.
Demand for natural gas tends to rise in the summer months as warmer temperatures increase the need for gas-fired electricity to power air conditioning.
But with autumn due to start on September 22, power burns to feed air conditioning demand have probably peaked for now, market analysts said.
Natural gas for delivery in October on the New York Mercantile Exchange touched an intraday low of $2.734 per million British thermal units, the weakest level since August 23.
It was last at $2.738 by 10:42AM ET (14:42GMT), down 2.6 cents, or 0.94%.
Trade volumes were expected to remain light on Monday, with many investors in the U.S. away for the Labor Day holiday. Trading in natural gas ends at 1:00PM ET, while U.S. stock markets are closed for trading all day.
Summer heat has waned and cooler temperatures beckon with the approach of autumn, when gas demand typically slackens and prices fall.
Total gas in storage currently stands at 3.401 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 7.0% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 9.8% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Unless intense late-summer heat boosts demand from power plants, stockpiles could possibly test physical storage limits of 4.3 trillion cubic feet at the end of October.