U.S. Natural Gas Shipments Fall on Lower Cooling Demand in West

Scheduled natural gas deliveries to U.S. electricity generators fell for the first time in four days on forecasts of lower cooling demand in the West, decreasing the need for fuel to power air-conditioners.

A sample of scheduled deliveries to power plants in the U.S. and Canada shows shipments fell 8.7 percent to 18.3 million dekatherms (17.9 billion cubic feet), according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Shipments to power generators in California dropped 20 percent.

Cooling demand in San Francisco will be non-existent and 3 percent of normal in Seattle until at least July 6, said Belton, Missouri-based forecaster Weather Derivatives. Power plants use 30 percent of U.S. gas supplies, according to the Energy Department.

Much of the West will have normal temperatures until July 3, and Midwestern temperatures will cool to normal from above- normal July 4-8, MDA EarthSat Weather of Gaithersburg, Maryland, said in a note to clients.

The high in Los Angeles today may reach 76 degrees Fahrenheit (24 Celsius), 6 below normal, according to AccuWeather Inc. of State College, Pennsylvania.

Scheduled gas shipments for U.S. residences fell 4.5 percent to 22.9 million dekatherms after a 14 percent drop yesterday.

Wholesale gas at the SoCal Border hub, where gas is delivered to the Southern California Gas Co., gained 2.03 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $4.4378 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, gained 9.09 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $4.3411 per million Btu.

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