After three days of rising, the November contract posted its biggest loss in four months, the day ahead of expiration. On Tuesday, October 29th, November dropped another 2.1% to settle at $3.496 per MMBtu. The forecasts for unseasonably warm temperatures in the Midwest and Northeast, key gas-heating markets, put downward pressure on the November contract and even lead to a 4.8% decline on the December contract. The November contract expired just slightly lower than the September contract settlement and 2013 is currently averaging at $3.637 per MMBtu. Natural gas inventories are 3.1% below the unusually high year prior and 1.6% above the five year average and current forecasts could mean that inventories will continue to post increases above the five year average. The CY2014 strip is currently trading near $3.60 per MMBtu.
