Natural gas futures trade near 6-week high on warm weather outlook

Investing.com - U.S. natural gas prices edged lower on Tuesday, but held near the previous session's six-week peak, supported by forecasts for warmer weather across the U.S. in the week ahead.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas for delivery in June shed 1.5 cents, or 0.51%, to trade at $2.806 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours. Futures held in a range between $2.783 and $2.818.

A day earlier, natural gas prices hit $2.824, the strongest level since March 24, before ending at $2.821, up 4.5 cents, or 1.62%.

Futures were likely to find support at $2.714 per million British thermal units, the low from May 1, and resistance at $2.832, the high from March 24.

Updated weather forecasting models called for warmer-than-average weather over much of the Midwest and Northeast, as well as the South in the first two weeks of May, which was likely to boost cooling demand.

Approximately 49% of U.S. households use natural gas for air conditioning, according to the Energy Department.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration's next storage report slated for release on May 7 is expected to show a build of approximately 73 billion cubic feet for the week ending May 1.

Supplies rose by 68 billion cubic feet in the same week last year, while the five-year average change is an increase of 75 billion cubic feet.

The EIA said last week that natural gas storage in the U.S. rose by 81 billion cubic feet, below expectations for an increase of 85 billion and following a build of 90 billion cubic feet in the preceding week.

The five-year average gain for the period was a gain of 55 billion cubic feet, while supplies rose by 77 billion cubic feet during the comparable period a year earlier.

Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 1.710 trillion cubic feet as of last week, 76.5% above year-ago levels and 4.2% 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 all of last winter’s unusually strong demand.

Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in June rallied $1.68, or 2.85%, to trade at $60.61 a barrel, while heating oil for June delivery jumped 2.4% to trade at $2.026 per gallon.