Investing.com - Forecasts for seasonably mild U.S. temperatures typical of this time of year sent natural gas futures falling on Monday, as demand for heating in the country's homes should wane.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in May traded at $4.556 per million British thermal units during U.S. trading, down 1.40%. The commodity hit session high of $4.646 and a low of $4.540.
The May contract settled down 0.75% on Friday to end at $4.620 per million British thermal units.
Natural gas futures were likely to find support at $4.222 per million British thermal units, the low from April 2, and resistance at $4.702, Thursday's high.
Updated weather-forecasting models called for seasonably mild temperatures to hover over much of the lower 48 contiguous U.S. states towards the end of April, which sent natural gas prices falling.
Spring and fall see the weakest demand for natural gas in the U.S, as the absence of extreme temperatures curbs demand for heating and air conditioning.
Forecasts for above-normal temperatures for pockets of the country cushioned losses though slightly.
Higher temperatures hike demand for air conditioning and prompt thermal generators to burn more of the commodity, though forecasts for overall weather patterns to bring mild springtime mercury reading to the U.S. pushed prices down.
Spring and fall see the weakest demand for natural gas in the U.S, as the absence of extreme temperatures curbs demand for heating and air conditioning.
Supplies remained in focus as well.
Last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ending April 4 rose by 4 billion cubic feet after a drop of 74 billion cubic feet in the previous week.
Analysts had expected a build of 13 billion cubic feet, and the lower-than-expected figure sparked a rally.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 826 billion cubic feet, the lowest for this time of year since 2003.
Severely cold weather over this past winter saw natural gas stockpiles fall to 11-year lows, sparking concerns that producers may not be able to refill inventories before the next heating season. Producers typically replenish inventories between April and October, when demand is lower.
The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption. Approximately 52% of U.S. households use natural gas for heating, according to the Energy Department.
Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in May were up 0.31% and trading at $104.06 a barrel, while heating oil for May delivery were up 1.57% and trading at $2.9792 per gallon.