Investing.com - U.S. natural gas prices swung between small gains and losses on Tuesday, as market players monitored extended weather forecasts to gauge the strength of demand for the fuel before the end of the winter heating season.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas for delivery in May tacked on 0.6 cents, or 0.25%, to trade at $2.651 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours.
A day earlier, natural gas prices touched $2.608, a level not seen since February 9, before ending at $2.644, up 0.5 cents, or 0.19%.
Futures were likely to find support at $2.595, the low from February 9, and resistance at $2.775, the high from March 26.
Updated weather forecasting models showed that colder temperatures will impact the U.S. east coast and Midwest from April 4 to April 6, while the rest of the country will enjoy seasonal or higher temperatures.
Prices are likely to remain vulnerable in the near-term as the coldest part of the winter has effectively passed and below-normal temperatures in March and April mean less than they do in January and February.
Natural gas prices are down more than 4% in March amid speculation the end of the winter heating season will bring warmer temperatures throughout the U.S. and cut into demand for the fuel.
Spring usually sees the weakest demand for natural gas in the U.S, as the absence of extreme temperatures curbs demand for heating and air conditioning.
The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.
Approximately 49% of U.S. households use natural gas for heating, according to the Energy Department.
Indications that supplies are more than ample to meet demand also weighed.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 1.479 trillion cubic feet as of last week, 63.6% above year-ago levels and 11.6% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Last spring, supplies were 55% below the five-year average, indicating producers have made up for most of last winter’s unusually strong demand.
U.S. stockpiles rose 12 billion cubic feet last week, the first increase since the heating season began in November.
The Energy Information Administration's next storage report slated for release on April 2 is expected to show a build of approximately 16 billion cubic feet for the week ending March 27.
Supplies fell by 71 billion cubic feet in the same week last year, while the five-year average change is a decline of 22 billion cubic feet.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in May dropped 65 cents, or 1.34%, to trade at $48.03 a barrel, while heating oil for May delivery slumped 1.22% to trade at $1.707 per gallon.