Investing.com - Natural gas prices carried Thursday's losses into Friday, as investors avoided the commodity after data revealed U.S. inventories rose more than markets were expecting last week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in June traded at $4.686 per million British thermal units during U.S. trading, down 0.71%. The commodity hit session high of $4.756 and a low of $4.680.
The June contract settled down 1.99% on Thursday to end at $4.719 per million British thermal units.
Natural gas futures were likely to find support at $4.646 per million British thermal units, the low from April 25, and resistance at $4.851, Wednesday's high.
A late-season cool snap that trekked across the U.S. in late April failed to make impact U.S. natural gas stockpiles.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Thursday that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ending April 25 rose by 82 billion cubic feet, well above forecasts for an increase of 75 billion cubic feet.
The five-year average gain for the period is 58 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 981 billion cubic feet. Stocks were 790 billion cubic feet less than last year at this time and 984 billion cubic feet below the five-year average of 1.965 trillion cubic feet for this time of year.
The report showed that in the East Region, stocks were 466 billion cubic feet below the five-year average, following net injections of 34 billion cubic feet.
Stocks in the Producing Region were 396 billion cubic feet below the five-year average of 824 billion cubic feet after a net injection of 35 billion cubic feet.
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.
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 June were up 0.39% at $99.81 a barrel, while heating oil for June delivery were up 0.38% at $2.9252 per gallon.