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Bloomberg

Natural gas futures slid for the first time in three days as meteorologists predicted milder weather that would reduce heating demand after an arctic blast this week.

Temperatures may be mostly normal or higher than average in the eastern U.S. from Nov. 23 through Nov. 27, according to Commodity Weather Group LLC in Bethesda, Maryland. The low in New York on Nov. 24 may be 54 degrees Fahrenheit (12 Celsius), 15 more than usual, AccuWeather Inc. said on its website. Gas jumped the most in nine months yesterday on forecasts for frigid weather in the South and East.

“The forecasts for later this month are a little bit less cold than what we’re experiencing now, so that’s putting downward pressure on prices,” said Gene McGillian, senior analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. “We’re also seeing some profit-taking after yesterday’s rally.”

Natural gas for December delivery fell 9.4 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $4.247 per million British thermal units at 9:32 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Volume for all futures traded was 42 percent above the 100-day average. Gas is down 6.5 percent from a four-month high of $4.544 on Nov. 10.

The low in Cleveland on Nov. 24 may be 38 degrees Fahrenheit, 1 above average, according to AccuWeather in State College, Pennsylvania.

About 49 percent of U.S. households use gas for heating.

Seasonal Decline

A government report scheduled for release on Nov. 20 may show that gas inventories fell by 15 billion cubic feet last week, the first withdrawal of the season, based on the median of four analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The five-year average change for the period is a decrease of 10 billion.

Gas output may increase 4.8 percent this year to average a record 73.79 billion cubic feet a day, the EIA said Nov. 12 in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook.

Gas production from the Marcellus shale formation in the Northeast may climb 1.3 percent in December to 16.1 billion cubic feet a day, the agency said Nov. 10 in its monthly Drilling Productivity Report.