Investing.com - Natural gas futures moved higher on Wednesday, snapping two days of losses, as forecasts for cooler temperatures boosted the demand outlook for the home heating fuel.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in January were up 1.77% at $3.683 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning trade, off the previous session’s close of $3.619 per million Btu.
Natural gas prices fell on Tuesday as updated weather forecasts indicated that temperatures over the central U.S. would not be as low as previously predicted.
The latest weather forecasting models indicated that while some regions of the northern U.S. would see colder weather in the coming days, milder temperatures in the central and southern parts of the country would not necessarily crimp demand for heating.
Investors were looking ahead to the weekly inventory report from the Energy Information Administration as they continued to digest last Thursday’s bullish report.
Natural gas storage fell by 51 billion cubic feet in the week ended December 5, more than expectations for a decline of 45 billion.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.359 trillion cubic feet. Stocks were 186 billion cubic feet less than last year at this time and 351 billion cubic feet below the five-year average of 3.710 trillion cubic feet for this time of year.
Approximately 49% of U.S. households use gas for heating, according to the EIA, the statistical arm of the Energy Department.