Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures rallied to a three-week high on Thursday, after data showed that natural gas supplies in storage in the U.S. rose less than forecast last week.
Natural gas for delivery in September on the New York Mercantile Exchange touched an intraday peak of $2.848 per million British thermal units, the most since August 4.
It was last at $2.826 by 10:32AM ET (14:32GMT), up 3.0 cents, or 1.11%. Futures were at around $2.829 prior to the release of the supply data.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. rose by 11 billion cubic feet in the week ended August 19, below expectations for an increase of 18 billion.
That compared with a gain of 22 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, 67 billion a year earlier and a five-year average of 66 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.350 trillion cubic feet, 8.3% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 8.2% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Meanwhile, forecasts for warmer than normal temperatures across most parts of the continental U.S. in the days ahead provided further support.
Natural gas futures are up almost 10% so far this week as traders reacted to forecasts for scorching heat across most of the country through September 5.
According to AccuWeather, the high in Washington DC on September 1 is expected to be 87 degrees Fahrenheit (31 Celsius), three more than normal.
Demand for natural gas tends to rise in the summer months as warmer temperatures increase the need for gas-fired electricity to power air conditioning.