Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures gave back all of the previous session's strong gains during U.S. morning trade on Monday, as market players positioned themselves for a bearish weekly storage report later in the week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas for delivery in November traded at $3.921 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours, down 11.8 cents, or 2.92%.
Natural gas prices hit a session low of $3.900 earlier in the day, a level not seen since September 25.
U.S. gas futures surged 10.7 cents, or 2.72%, on Friday to settle at $4.039 as market players wagered that cold weather across the U.S. will boost demand for heating.
Futures were likely to find support at $3.874 per million British thermal units, the low from September 25 and resistance at $4.047, the high from October 3.
Investors continued to digest last week's inventory data, which showed a larger than expected increase for the 24th consecutive week.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said that natural gas storage in the U.S. rose by 112 billion cubic feet, above expectations for an increase of 107 billion.
Inventories rose by 99 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change is a build of 85 billion cubic feet.
Injections of gas into storage have surpassed the five-year average for 24 consecutive weeks, alleviating concerns over tightening supplies.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.100 trillion cubic feet as of last week, narrowing the deficit to the five-year average to 11.4% from a record 54.7% at the end of March.
The EIA's next storage report is slated for release on Thursday, October 9, with analysts expecting a build of 114 billion cubic feet for the week ending October 3.
Inventories rose by 91 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change is a build of 84 billion cubic feet.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in November tacked on 17 cents, or 0.19%, to trade at $89.91 a barrel, while heating oil for November delivery dipped 0.06% to trade at $2.614 per gallon.