Natural gas futures rebound with all eyes on weekly storage data

Investing.com - U.S. natural gas prices rebounded from a more than two-week low struck in the previous session on Wednesday, as market participants looked ahead to fresh weekly information on U.S. gas inventories to gauge the strength of demand for the fuel.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas for delivery rose 3.5 cents, or 1.21%, to trade at $2.884 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours.

Futures were likely to find support at $2.796 per million British thermal units, the low from May 11, and resistance at $3.018, the high from May 22.

A day earlier, natural gas prices fell to $2.818, the weakest level since May 11, before closing at $2.849, down 7.0 cents, or 2.4%, as forecasts for mild weather across the U.S. in the week ahead dampened demand expectations for the fuel.

Weather forecasting models called for slightly warmer than average temperatures across the U.S. over the next ten days, although not yet enough to significantly boost cooling demand.

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 U.S. Energy Information Administration's next storage report due on Thursday is expected to show a build of approximately 110 billion cubic feet for the week ending May 22.

Supplies rose by 113 billion cubic feet in the same week last year, while the five-year average change is an increase of 95 billion cubic feet.

Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 1.989 trillion cubic feet as of last week, 59.0% above year-ago levels and 1.7% 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.

Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in July lost 9 cents, or 0.15%, to trade at $57.94 a barrel, while heating oil for July delivery slumped 0.68% to trade at $1.891 per gallon.