To: paul feldman who wrote (47943 ) 7/14/1999 10:10:00 AM From: articwarrior Respond to of 95453
Time to add to positions in CRK! NYMEX Hub natgas seen opening steady ahead of AGAs NEW YORK, July 14 (Reuters) - NYMEX Hub natgas futures are expected to open mostly steady Wednesday as traders remained cautious ahead of this afternoon's weekly storage data, which may erase the surplus to year-ago tallies, industry sources said. Prompting the unchanged opening call was August trading at $2.17-2.185 per mmBtu in this morning's over-the-counter market. This followed Tuesday's settlement at $2.176 and a low of $2.172 on ACCESS. ''Resistance is $2.195, and support is $2.13. I think they're both going to hold until after the AGAs,'' one gas trader said. Injection estimates for today's AGA storage report are 40-82 bcf, with most in the 55-65 bcf area. For the same week last year, stocks gained 93 bcf. After $2.13, traders saw August support at $2.10, and then $2 and the mid-$1.90s. Further resistance was pegged at $2.25 and $2.325. ''We might test $2.195, but I don't think we'll get past that. Cash has been struggling to keep up, and the weather is just not there,'' one Midwest trader said, noting Henry Hub cash prices ended Tuesday's session around $2.14. Weather forecasts show a warmer latter part of this week in the eastern two-thirds of the U.S., with highs expected to reach into the low-90s in the New York and Chicago areas and into the mid-90s in Texas. But the mid-80s are expected to quickly follow by early next week in the Northeast and Midwest. The West is expected to be significantly cooler than the first part of this week, according to Weather Services Corp. A private forecast released Tuesday for Sunday through Thursday calls for above-normal temperatures for much of the nation, except in the upper Midwest, West Coast and Gulf Coast regions, where seasonal to below-seasonal readings are expected. The 11-15 day outlook shows mostly normal temperatures for the Northeast, upper Midwest, Gulf Coast and West Coast, with mostly above normal expected for the rest of the nation.