Mother Nature will be unpredictable in both the US and Europe this winter,according to forecasters. And US energy suppliers, in particular, are being warnedto brace for dramatic shifts in demand for heating fuel from month to month,and even week to week. As a result, weather derivatives traders are hoping foran upturn in business.

One bank that is noting ever-increasing interest in its weather products is DeutscheBank. Last month, Deutsche structured and executed what its says is an