Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Natural gas futures rose for a fourth day as Hurricane Ike moved toward the Gulf of Mexico, a region that produces about 14 percent of U.S. supplies.

Ike is over Cuba on a course that would take it into the Gulf within two days, U.S. government forecasters said. About 70 percent of offshore gas production is still shut because of Hurricane Gustav, which made landfall in Louisiana last week.

``The main driver'' is Ike, said Michael Rose, trading director at Angus Jackson Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Forecasts put the storm ``in the richest natural gas and crude areas that we have.''

Natural gas for October delivery rose 7.8 cents, or 1.1 percent, to settle at $7.527 per million British thermal units at 3:04 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising as high as $7.705.

``Natural gas and energy in general are still in a down trend,'' based on technical analysis, said Tom Saal, managing director of Commercial Brokerage Corp. in Miami. ``I don't have anything that says there's a bottom here'' for gas.

Technical traders watch for patterns on daily charts for clues to price direction, and will sell or buy commodities or equities based on those indicators.

Ike was a Category 2 storm on the 5 step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity, with sustained winds of 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said on its Web site at 2 p.m. The storm weakened earlier today from Category 3. It may regain strength as it moves over water along the south coast of Cuba today, the forecasters said.

``The market is from Missouri on Ike at the moment,'' Saal said. ``Show me the damage. Show me the shut-ins as opposed to anticipating it.''

Government Report

Energy companies that were in the process of restoring production after Gustav now are taking precautions for Ike, the U.S. Minerals Management Service said. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita damaged offshore production and pipelines in August and September 2005, sending gas futures to a record $15.78 per million Btu the following December.

``You still have a lot of stuff shut in the Gulf of Mexico due to Gustav,'' said Scott Hanold, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets in Minneapolis. ``Inventories are looking much more bullish than they were just two weeks ago.''

Gulf Evacuations

BP Plc, Europe's second-largest oil company by market value, began evacuating non-essential workers from Gulf platforms today. Rowan Cos. and Diamond Offshore Drilling were also in the process of evacuating offshore rigs.

``I'm amazed that the market seems to be paying as little attention to these storms as it is,'' said Carl Neill, an energy analyst at Risk Management Inc. in Chicago. ``Though maybe it is; maybe we'd be down another 50 cents or 60 cents without the storms.''

Improvements to offshore pipelines and platforms after Katrina and Rita have helped to reduce fears of lengthy production disruptions, Neill said.

Buyers have also been reassured by an increase in onshore production, which may have helped limit today's price rise, Neill said. Domestic gas output is expected to increase by 8 percent this year, the Energy Department said in a July 8 report.

To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Clark in New York at aclark27@bloomberg.net; Reg Curren in Calgary at rcurren@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 8, 2008 15:36 EDT