Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures traded near the previous session's 11-month low on Wednesday, as market players monitored near-term weather forecasts to gauge the strength of demand for the fuel ahead of Thursday’s closely-watched supply report.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas for delivery in November traded at $3.685 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours, down 2.6 cents, or 0.7%.
A day earlier, natural gas futures fell to $3.631 per million British thermal units, the lowest since November 20, 2013, before turning higher to settle at $3.711, up 4.1 cents, or 1.12%.
Futures were likely to find support at $3.549 per million British thermal units, the low from November 20, and resistance at $3.745, the high from October 20.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly storage report slated for release on Thursday is expected to show an increase of 97 billion cubic feet for the week ending October 17.
The five-year average change for the week is an increase of 70 billion cubic feet.
Injections of gas into storage have surpassed the five-year average for 26 consecutive weeks, alleviating concerns over tightening supplies.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.299 trillion cubic feet as of last week, narrowing the deficit to the five-year average to 9.9% from a record 54.7% at the end of March.
Meanwhile, updated weather-forecasting models showed that cold temperatures along the U.S. East Coast will give way to more seasonal readings from October 27 through October 31.
The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in December tacked on 26 cents, or 0.32%, to trade at $82.75 a barrel, while heating oil for November delivery advanced 0.55% to trade at $2.527 per gallon.