Investing.com - Natural gas futures turned higher on Thursday, after data showed natural gas supplies rose less than expected last week.
Natural gas for delivery in December on the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on 2.6 cents, or 1.13%, to trade at $2.374 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours. Prices were at around $2.335 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. in the week ended November 13 rose by 15 billion cubic feet, below expectations for an increase of 18 billion.
That compared with builds of 49 billion cubic feet in the prior week, 40 billion cubic feet in the same week last year, while the five-year average change for the week is an increase of 30 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at an all-time high of 4.000 trillion cubic feet, 10.1% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 5.2% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Last spring, supplies were 55% below the five-year average, indicating producers have more than made up for all of last winter’s unusually strong demand.
A day earlier, natural gas prices lost 2.4 cents, or 1.01%, as forecasts for the next two weeks turned milder, dampening near-term demand expectations for the heating fuel.
Natural gas prices have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting outlooks on early-winter heating demand.
The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.
Natural gas prices typically rise ahead of the winter as colder weather sparks heating demand. But a mild start to the winter heating season underlined concerns over a deepening supply glut, driving prices to multi-year lows near $2 per million British thermal units at the end of October.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in January shed 21 cents, or 0.5%, to trade at $41.74 a barrel, while heating oil for December delivery inched up 0.32% to trade at $1.384 per gallon.