Ohio Natural Gas Advances First Day in Four on Colder Weather

The price of natural gas shipments for next-day delivery in Ohio rose for the first time in four days as colder weather raised demand for the heating fuel.

Temperatures will be below normal in the Midwest through Feb. 26, according to MDA Federal Inc.’s EarthSat Energy Weather in Rockville, Maryland.

Wholesale gas delivered into Columbia Gas Transmission in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania,West Virginia, Virginia and New York gained 4.65 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $3.9901 per million British thermal units on the Intercontinental Exchange.

About 3.07 million dekatherms of gas (about 2.99 billion cubic feet) were to be delivered to residences in the state as of 3:10 p.m. today, the most since Feb. 11, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Scheduled delivery has jumped 41 percent since Feb. 6.

Total scheduled gas shipments to the U.S. for residential use gained 0.1 percent to 38.7 million dekatherms, according to Bloomberg data. Shipments for power plants were set to decline 2.3 percent to 10.3 million dekatherms.

The low temperature in Cincinnati of 28 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 2 Celsius) early today was the normal temperature for the date, according to AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania. The low in Cleveland of 15 degrees was 7 degrees below normal.

(Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-22/natural-gas-shipments-to-ohio-rise-on-below-normal-temperatures.html)