Investing.com - Natural gas futures came under heavy selling pressure on Thursday, after a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that natural gas supplies rose broadly in line with market expectations last week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in August traded at USD3.592 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning trade, down 2.4% on the day.
The August contract fell by as much as 2.5% earlier in the day to hit a session low of USD3.586 per million British thermal units, the weakest level since July 5.
The August contract traded at USD3.689 prior to the release of the U.S. Energy Information Administration report.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ended July 5 rose by 82 billion cubic feet, broadly in line with market expectations.
Inventories rose by 34 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change for the week is a rise of 74 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.687 trillion cubic feet as of last week. Stocks were 443 billion cubic feet less than last year at this time and 22 billion cubic feet below the five-year average of 2.709 trillion cubic feet for this time of year.
The report showed that in the East Region, stocks were 89 billion cubic feet below the five-year average, following net injections of 53 billion cubic feet.
Stocks in the Producing Region were 33 billion cubic feet above the five-year average of 965 billion cubic feet after a net injection of 27 billion cubic feet.
Meanwhile, market players continued to focus on near-term weather forecasts to gauge the strength of demand for the fuel.
Revised weather forecasting models released earlier pointed to warmer-than-normal temperatures in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest over the next five days.
Demand for natural gas tends to fluctuate in the summer based on hot weather and air conditioning use.
Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in August fell 1.6% to trade at USD104.38 a barrel, while heating oil for August delivery shed 0.25% to trade at USD2.994 per gallon.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in August traded at USD3.592 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning trade, down 2.4% on the day.
The August contract fell by as much as 2.5% earlier in the day to hit a session low of USD3.586 per million British thermal units, the weakest level since July 5.
The August contract traded at USD3.689 prior to the release of the U.S. Energy Information Administration report.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ended July 5 rose by 82 billion cubic feet, broadly in line with market expectations.
Inventories rose by 34 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change for the week is a rise of 74 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.687 trillion cubic feet as of last week. Stocks were 443 billion cubic feet less than last year at this time and 22 billion cubic feet below the five-year average of 2.709 trillion cubic feet for this time of year.
The report showed that in the East Region, stocks were 89 billion cubic feet below the five-year average, following net injections of 53 billion cubic feet.
Stocks in the Producing Region were 33 billion cubic feet above the five-year average of 965 billion cubic feet after a net injection of 27 billion cubic feet.
Meanwhile, market players continued to focus on near-term weather forecasts to gauge the strength of demand for the fuel.
Revised weather forecasting models released earlier pointed to warmer-than-normal temperatures in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest over the next five days.
Demand for natural gas tends to fluctuate in the summer based on hot weather and air conditioning use.
Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in August fell 1.6% to trade at USD104.38 a barrel, while heating oil for August delivery shed 0.25% to trade at USD2.994 per gallon.