The NYMEX December natural gas futures contract continued to plunge midday Tuesday, as demand was down due to warmer temperatures in the forecast and post-Hurricane Sandy power outages, sources said.
December was trading at $3.690/MMBtu at 12:52 p.m. EDT (1652 GMT), 11.3 cents below Monday's close.
According to Schneider Electric analyst Matt Smith, the December contract has rolled onto the "electronic" board Tuesday, as NYMEX floor trading is closed for the second consecutive day due to the Hurricane Sandy.
"The new prompt takes the reins around $3.80[/MMBtu] and is promptly moving lower," Smith said.
According to sources, the contract's decline is due to lower demand following power outages in the US East Coast and warm weather in the forecasts.
The US National Weather Service outlook shows well-above-average temperatures in western US and normal temperatures in the central part of the country for the 6- to 10-day range.
The December contract has traded between $3.650/MMBtu and $3.820/MMBtu so far Tuesday.
