Investing.com - Natural gas futures were lower on Tuesday, as forecasts for milder weather clouded the demand outlook for the home heating fuel.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in January were down 1.72% at $3.66 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning trade, not far from the six-week lows of $3.585 struck on December 8.
Prices were lower for a second day as weather forecasts turned milder.
Natgasweather.com noted that “the cold Arctic air will remain confined to far northern Canada and also where they are not tracking through, temperature anomalies are running 10-20 F warmer than normal, such as over Texas and the central U.S.”
Investors were looking ahead to the weekly inventory report from the Energy Information Administration as they continued to digest last Thursday’s bullish report.
Natural gas storage fell by 51 billion cubic feet in the week ended December 5, more than expectations for a decline of 45 billion.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.359 trillion cubic feet. Stocks were 186 billion cubic feet less than last year at this time and 351 billion cubic feet below the five-year average of 3.710 trillion cubic feet for this time of year.
Approximately 49% of U.S. households use gas for heating, according to the EIA, the statistical arm of the Energy Department.