Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures rose more than 1% on Monday, as market players continued to monitor near-term summer weather forecasts to gauge the strength of demand for the cooling fuel.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas for delivery in October climbed 1.61%, or 6.2 cents, to trade at $3.946 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours.
Natural gas futures lost 1.2%, or 4.7 cents, on Friday to end at $3.883 per million British thermal units.
Futures were likely to find support at $3.830 per million British thermal units, the low from August 21 and resistance at $3.988, the high from August 21.
Updated weather forecasting models showed that above-normal temperatures in the U.S. East will give way to seasonal readings across most of the country from August 26 through September 4.
Demand for natural gas tends to fluctuate in the summer based on hot weather and air conditioning use.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on August 22 that natural gas storage in the U.S. rose by 88 billion cubic feet last week, above expectations for an increase of 83 billion cubic feet.
Inventories rose by 58 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change is a build of 48 billion cubic feet.
Injections of gas into storage have surpassed the five-year average for 18 consecutive weeks, alleviating concerns over tightening supplies.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.555 trillion cubic feet as of last week, narrowing the deficit to the five-year average to 17.3% from 18.9% a week earlier and down from a record 54.7% at the end of March.
The EIA's next storage report is slated for release on Thursday, August 28, with analysts expecting a build of 76 billion cubic feet for the week ending August 22.
Inventories rose by 65 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change is a build of 58 billion cubic feet.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in October inched up 0.08%, or 7 cents, to trade at $93.73 a barrel, while heating oil for October delivery tacked on 0.28% to trade at $2.842 per gallon.