Cold-weather prospects drive January NYMEX gas 16.7 cts higher

Washington (Platts)--14Dec2004

Prospects for colder weather in the near-term and in longer-term outlooks
Tuesday lifted the January NYMEX gas futures contract for the second day in a
row. The contract gained 16.7 cts to settle at $7.333/MMBtu, sources said.
"The weather is basically hanging over this market and spooking any weak
shorts," said a NYMEX trader. After kicking off the day at $7.27/MMBtu, the
January gas contract eased briefly into negative territory to an intra-day low
of $7.08/MMBtu. The front-month contract, however, regained momentum to hit a
daily high of $7.35/MMBtu by the end of the session after it broke and held
above the 200-day moving average at around $7.10/MMBtu, the trader said. He
added that the January gas contract "has built a technical base" over the past
couple of days and could continue to press to longer-term target resistance at
around $7.80/MMBtu if weather forecasts continue to to call for normal to
below-normal temperatures.

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