Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures held on to solid gains in North America trade on Thursday, after data showed that natural gas supplies in storage in the U.S. rose less than expected last week.
Natural gas for delivery in August on the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped 3.3 cent, or 1.15%, to trade at $2.896 per million British thermal units by 14:33GMT, or 10:33AM ET. Prices were at around $2.913 prior to the release of the supply data.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ended June 24 rose by 37 billion cubic feet, below forecasts for an increase of 45 billion.
That compared with builds of 62 billion cubic feet in the prior week, 73 billion a year earlier and a five-year average of 78 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.140 trillion cubic feet, 18.5% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 20.3% above the five-year average for this time of year.
A day earlier, gas futures rallied to $2.974, the most since May 2015, as hot summer temperatures across most parts of the U.S. raised expectations for power generation demand to meet air conditioning needs.
Updated weather forecasting models suggested that temperatures may be hotter than normal throughout most of the contiguous U.S. from July 8 through July 12.
Demand for natural gas tends to rise in the summer months as warmer temperatures increase the need for gas-fired electricity to power air conditioning.
Natural gas prices are up nearly 45% since late May as expectations have grown that hot summer weather will lead to heavy demand.
Gas use typically hits a seasonal low with spring's mild temperatures, before warmer weather increases demand for gas-fired electricity generation to power air conditioning.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in August dropped $1.07, or 2.15%, to trade at $48.81 a barrel, while heating oil for August delivery slumped 2.04% to trade at $1.514 per gallon.