Natural gas futures rally to 2-week high after bullish U.S. supply data
Investing.com
Published Aug 15, 2013 10:34AM ET
Market participants also continued to focus on near-term weather forecasts to gauge the strength of demand for the fuel.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in September traded at USD3.405 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning trade, up 1.9%. The September contract settled 1.75% higher at USD3.342 per million British thermal units on Wednesday
Prices traded at USD3.372 prior to the release of the U.S. Energy Information Administration report.
Nymex gas futures rose to a daily high of USD3.414 per million British thermal units earlier in the session, the strongest level since August 1.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ended August 9 rose by 65 billion cubic feet, below market expectations for an increase of 70 billion cubic feet.
Inventories rose by 20 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change for the week is a build of 42 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.006 trillion cubic feet as of last week. Stocks were 252 billion cubic feet less than last year at this time and 43 billion cubic feet above the five-year average of 2.963 trillion cubic feet for this time of year.
The report showed that in the East Region, stocks were 99 billion cubic feet below the five-year average, following net injections of 51 billion cubic feet.
Stocks in the Producing Region were 86 billion cubic feet above the five-year average of 967 billion cubic feet after a net injection of 4 billion cubic feet.
Meanwhile, updated weather forecasting models pointed to warmer-than-normal temperatures in the northern tier of the U.S. in late August, boosting summer cooling demand for the fuel.
Demand for natural gas tends to fluctuate in the summer based on hot weather and air conditioning use.
Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in September eased up 0.1% to trade at USD106.96 a barrel, while heating oil for September delivery added 0.5% to trade at USD3.062 per gallon.
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Written By: Investing.com
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