Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures fell for the first time in three sessions on Tuesday, as traders sold contracts to lock in gains from a recent rally.
Natural gas for delivery in March on the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 1.7 cents, or 0.77%, to trade at $2.125 per million British thermal units by 15:30 GMT, or 10:30AM ET. A day earlier, futures surged 7.7 cents, or 3.73%.
Natural gas prices gained more than 8% over the past two sessions as updated weather forecasting models pointed to seasonably cold weather through the next two weeks, lifting near-term demand expectations for the heating fuel.
Forecasts originally called for mild winter weather during the period, prompting traders to close out bets on lower prices.
Bullish speculators are betting on the cold weather to increase winter demand for the heating fuel. The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly storage report due on Thursday is expected to show a withdrawal of approximately 145 billion cubic feet for the week ending February 5.
That compares with draws of 152 billion cubic feet in the prior week, 160 billion cubic feet in the same week last year and a five-year average of around 162 billion.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.934 trillion cubic feet, 16.7% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 15.1% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in March tacked on 22 cents, or 0.76%, to trade at $29.91 a barrel, while heating oil for March delivery shed 0.92% to trade at $1.036 per gallon.