Investing.com - U.S. natural gas prices rose for the second consecutive 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 in May touched an intraday peak of $2.614 per million British thermal units, the strongest level since April 17, before trading at $2.614 during U.S. morning hours, up 3.8 cents, or 1.5%.
A day earlier, natural gas prices jumped 3.9 cents, or 1.54%, to close at $2.575 amid speculation utilities and power generators will switch from coal to natural gas in wake of the recent slide in prices.
Futures were likely to find support at $2.533 per million British thermal units, the low from April 21, and resistance at $2.693, the high from April 17.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's next storage report due on Thursday is expected to show a build of approximately 80 billion cubic feet for the week ending April 17, which would be the most on record for the week.
Supplies rose by 45 billion cubic feet in the same week last year, while the five-year average change is an increase of 46 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 1.539 trillion cubic feet as of last week, 81.7% above year-ago levels and 8.6% 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. natural gas prices have been under heavy selling pressure in recent weeks 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.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in June dipped 26 cents, or 0.45%, to trade at $56.36 a barrel, while heating oil for May delivery shed 0.37% to trade at $1.846 per gallon.