据油价网5月20日报道，由于预期美国的气温将很快降温，美国天然气价格周五下午下跌。

天然气期货跌至8.076美元/百万英热单位 (-2.79%)，因为全球预报系统预测下周大平原和美国东部将出现较冷天气，下周西部山区和东海岸也将迎来较冷天气。

今天的天然气价格仍然是去年这个时候的两倍多，是年初水平的两倍，是十多年来的最高水平。

天然气的供需平衡预计将在夏季剩余时间内保持紧张，尽管美国的产量高于去年同期。 

其他因素还包括，出口的增加推高了价格，还有美国部分地区将面临低于同期均温的预期。推动天然气价格超过8美元的因素还有天然气库存比去年同期下降了20%。

预计今天的天然气价格下跌将是短暂的，然而，EIA预测，今年夏天6月至8月期间，输送到发电机的天然气平均价格将接近9美元/百万英热单位。

黎泱 编译自 油价网

原文如下：

U.S. Natural Gas Prices Fall As Colder Weather Approaches

U.S. natural gas prices fell on Friday afternoon on the expectation that temperatures in the United States are set to cool off soon.

Natural gas futures fell to $8.076/MMBtu (-2.79%) as the Global Forecast System predicted that cold weather was in store next week for the Great Plains and the Eastern United States, and the week following in the Mountain West and East Coast.

Today’s natural gas prices are still more than double what they were this time last year, double the levels that it started the year with, and the highest in over a decade.

The supply and demand balance for natural gas is expected to remain tight for the remainder of the summer, although U.S. production is more than it was this time last year. 

Those higher exports have helped to push prices higher, combined with unseasonably warm temperatures in parts of the United States, adding to the call for cooling. Adding to the list of things pushing natural gas prices above the $8 market are nat gas inventories which are 20% below where they were this time last year.

The dip in today’s natural gas prices is expected to be short-lived, however, with the EIA forecasting that natural gas delivered to electric generators will average almost $9 MMBtu this summer between June and August.