Investing.com - Natural gas futures trimmed gains on Thursday, after data showed that U.S. natural gas supplies rose more than expected last week.
Natural gas for delivery in October on the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up 1.8 cents, or 0.7%, to trade at $2.667 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours. Prices were at around $2.673 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 August 28 rose by 94 billion cubic feet, above expectations for an increase of 88 billion.
That compared with builds of 69 billion cubic feet in the prior week, 79 billion cubic feet in the same week last year, while the five-year average change for the week was an increase of 60 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.193 trillion cubic feet as of last week. Stocks were 495 billion cubic feet higher than last year at this time and 122 billion cubic feet above the five-year average of 3.071 trillion cubic feet for this time of year.
A day earlier, natural gas prices lost 5.4 cents, or 2.0%, as market players weighed shifting weather forecasts to assess the outlook for U.S. demand and supply levels.
Updated weather forecasting models showed that cooler weather was expected across most parts of the Great Lakes, Northeast and Midwest-regions in the coming days, dampening demand for the fuel.
Demand for natural gas tends to fluctuate in the summer based on hot weather and air conditioning use. Natural gas accounts for about a quarter of U.S. electricity generation.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in October rallied $1.60, or 3.46%, to trade at $47.85 a barrel, while heating oil for October delivery jumped 2.78% to trade at $1.654 per gallon.