Gas Bulls Unshaken by Nice Weather Warn That Winter Is Coming

Five of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg said they’re bullish about next week’s U.S. gas prices. Futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed at the lowest level since April on Wednesday. After a Thursday rally, they fell 4.5 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $2.546 per million British thermal units at 10:26 a.m. Friday. Three analysts said they were neutral on gas prices, and three said they were bearish.

“Even though we might not have the cold weather yet, it’s October next week,” said Tom Saal, senior vice president of energy trading at FCStone Latin America LLC in Miami. “The market is going to start to anticipate the winter.”

U.S. gas futures have fallen almost 20 cents in the last three months, weighed down by a glut of domestic shale supplies and lingering summer heat. The weather phenomenon known as El Nino is also threatening to shrink demand for the fuel during the winter heating season, cutting power generators’ profits along with it. (by Tim Loh, Bloomberg Business)