Investing.com - Natural gas futures fell on Monday after investors sold and avoided the commodity on concerns that cold snaps due to trek across the country this month may a less intense than once anticipated.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in January were down 0.88% at $3.762 per million British thermal units during U.S. trading. The commodity hit a session low of $3.708, and a high of $3.930.
The January contract settled up 4.43% on Friday to end at $3.795 per million British thermal units.
Natural gas futures were likely to find support at $3.606 per million British thermal units, last Wednesday's low, and resistance at $3.929, Sunday's high.
Milder temperatures hovering over the U.S. should give way to colder mercury readings by the end of the month, though mercury readings may not fall as once forecast and drive less demand for heating than once anticipated.
"There still will be colder temperatures coming to the U.S. beginning next week. However, the coverage and intensity of the cold air is still far from being resolved, especially with the weather systems arriving around the Christmas Holiday," Natgasweather.com reported in its Monday Midday Update.
"With the weather data inconsistent on how the pattern will unfold, there will be less confidence on which regions will be impacted greatest by the coldest temperatures, and also for how long, leaving quite a bit of uncertainty regarding how much heating demand will be needed through the rest of the year."
Investors continued to digest last Thursday's bullish supply report.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ended Dec. 5 fell by 51 billion cubic feet, more than expectations for a decline of 45 billion and compared to a drop of 22 billion in the previous week.
Inventories fell by 92 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change is a drop of 72 billion cubic feet.
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.
Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in February were down 2.41% at $56.68 a barrel, while heating oil for January delivery were up 0.23% at $2.0206 per gallon.