Natural gas shipments scheduled for delivery to U.S. households slipped for a second day on forecasts of above-normal temperatures that may erode demand for the heating fuel. Scheduled deliveries to homes in the U.S. and Canada fell 7.1 percent to 31.9 million dekatherms (31.1 billion cubic feet), according to data compiled by Bloomberg as of 10:08 a.m. in New York. That was the lowest level since Nov. 16. Residences in a region including the Great Lakes and parts of the mid-Atlantic were to receive 12.1 million dekatherms of gas, down 5.6 percent from yesterday, Bloomberg data show. Gas deliveries for home use in the region have declined 44 percent from a month ago. Scheduled shipments for U.S. power plants were down 5.2 percent to 12 million dekatherms, the first decline in four days. The low temperature early today in Columbus, Ohio, was 39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 Celsius), 14 degrees above normal, according to Weather Underground in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The low tomorrow may be 40 degrees, 15 degrees above normal. Wholesale gas delivered into Columbia Gas Transmission in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia and New York rose 7.24 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $3.8917 per million British thermal units yesterday on the Intercontinental Exchange. Gas at the Henry Hub in Erath, Louisiana, the delivery point for futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange, climbed 10.29 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $3.8324. |