U.S. Natural Gas Shipments Fall on Milder Southeast Weather

Scheduled natural gas deliveries to U.S. electricity generators slid for the first time in three days on forecasts of moderating temperatures that may reduce air-conditioning use. Shipments toFlorida also dropped for the first day in three.

A sample of scheduled deliveries to power plants in the U.S. and Canada shows shipments fell 2.3 percent to 12.2 million dekatherms (11.9 billion cubic feet), according to data compiled by Bloomberg as of 9:30 a.m. in New York.

Scheduled shipments for U.S. residences rose 1.9 percent to 28.8 million. Residences in Florida were to receive 2.5 million dekatherms of gas, down 7.1 percent from yesterday, Bloomberg data show. The decline was the biggest since March 19.

Temperatures in Jacksonville, Florida, hit a high of 73 degrees Fahrenheit (23 Celsius), 3 below normal, early today before retreating, according to Weather Underground in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The high tomorrow may be 70, 6 degrees below normal.

Wholesale gas delivered at the FGT Zone 3 hub, where gas is delivered into Florida from Texas, fell 10.11 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $4.2549 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, declined 11.29 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $4.2107 per million Btu.

(Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-05/u-s-natural-gas-shipments-fall-on-milder-southeast-weather.html)