Natural Gas Prices Start The Week With A Slide
After initially jumping up at the Sunday evening open, natural gas prices quickly began facing downward pressure, which continued into the day today, with the August contract settling a few cents lower compared to Friday's close.
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Why the weakness in the face of such strong heat on the way this week? Part of that answer lies in the move cooler in the forecast as we look into the final portion of July, which is expected to bring demand down to at least near normal levels.
Here is the forecast demand chart (GWDDs), showing this week's strong cooling demand, followed by the late month weakening:
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In map form, we see the "blues" introduced in today's 11-15 day outlook for the first time in awhile in the eastern half of the nation.
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While July is still set go down as a hot-dominated month, this late month cooler move is not a surprise.