Das Wichtigste kurz zusammengefasst:
- Der aktuelle Gaspreis steht wieder über 8 Dollar - Wegen der Rekordkälte in Kanada ist die kanadische Gasproduktion um 8% eingebrochen - Der LNG- Import ist um 70% niedriger als im letzten Jahr um diese Zeit - Durch deutlich tiefere Temperaturen in der Berichtswoche rechnen morgen die Experten mit der Bekanntgabe einer Rekordentnahme von 253 billion cubic feet - Aktuell haben sie -18°C in Chicago und die Heizungen laufen auf "Max" - Aktuell liegen wir noch 7,4% über dem 5 Jahres- Durchschnitt
Wenn wir den 5-Jahres- Durchschnitt bei den Gasreserven unterschreiten, bin ich mal gespannt, was passiert!
Natural Gas Rises on Speculation Federal Reserve to Cut Rates
By Reg Curren
Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Natural gas in New York rose on expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates today, boosting the U.S. economy and enhancing demand for energy.
The U.S. central bank cut interest rates by three quarters of a percentage point on Jan. 22 and may trim it by another half point in a 2:15 p.m. announcement in Washington. Lower interest rates typically spark companies to borrow to buy equipment and expand plants, which boosts demand for energy.
``There's a lot to get the bulls excited,'' said Carl Neill, an energy analyst at Risk Management Inc. in Chicago. ``We have the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, temperatures plummeted here and there's talk of record storage draw.''
Gas for March delivery rose 8.5 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $8.028 per million British thermal units at 1:25 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gas has risen 4 percent in the past year. The February contract, which expired yesterday, settled at $7.99 per million Btu.
``Natural gas is getting a boost from the weather psychologically,'' said Phil Flynn, a senior trader at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago.
Temperatures overnight in Chicago plunged to minus 1 Fahrenheit (minus 18 Celsius) after reaching a high of 49 degrees yesterday, the National Weather Service said. Temperatures are forecast to remain below-normal through Feb. 2, the government forecaster said.
``An interest rate cut might initially help prices,'' said Michael Fitzpatrick, vice president for energy risk management at MF Global Ltd. in New York. ``Any gains will probably be unsustainable'' because of a forecast for above-normal temperatures in the first week of February.
Canadian Imports
Higher temperatures may not materialize and reduced liquefied natural gas imports and falling production in Canada may crimp supplies, said Peter Linder, an analyst and senior adviser with Calgary-based DeltaOne Energy fund.
``They've been calling for above-normal since late autumn and they've been almost 100 percent wrong,'' said Linder. ``The near-record cold snap in Alberta has frozen off wells, cutting supply by about 8 percent and that will take time to come back and LNG, is a non-event.''
U.S. LNG imports averaged 1 billion cubic feet a day this month, 70 percent less than the same month a year earlier, according to a note today from Stacy Nieuwoudt of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Securities Inc. of Houston.
Traders are also anticipating a large decline in stockpiles for last week because of cold weather.
U.S. Inventories
Inventories probably fell 253 billion cubic feet in the week ended Jan. 25, according to the median of 10 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The five-year average change for the same week is a decline of 185 billion cubic feet, according to Energy Department data.
``Speculators may be playing the draw because last week there was the cold weather,'' said Stephen Briggs, managing partner at Intermarket Management LLC in Verona, New Jersey. ``I'm looking for 200 billion to 300 billion'' cubic feet.
The department's next weekly report on inventories is scheduled for release tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. in Washington.
Supplies may have declined by a record amount last week, George Hopley, an analyst at Barclay's Capital in New York said today in a note.
Stockpiles may dip 268 billion cubic feet, topping the previous record of 260 billion cubic feet reported in January 1997, Hopley said.
The reduction would help to trim a surplus of gas. Inventories stood at 174 billion cubic feet, or 7.4 percent above the five-year average for the week ended Jan. 18, according to the Energy Department. |