Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures held near the prior session’s nine-month high on Wednesday, as traders looked ahead to fresh weekly information on U.S. gas inventories to gauge the strength of demand for the fuel.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's storage report slated for release on Thursday is expected to show a build in a range between 55 to 66 billion cubic feet for the week ending June 17.
That compared with builds of 69 billion cubic feet in the prior week, 73 billion a year earlier and a five-year average of 88 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.041 trillion cubic feet, 20.8% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 23.2% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Natural gas for delivery in July on the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.9 cents, or 0.33% to trade at $2.759 per million British thermal units by 13:40GMT, or 9:40AM ET.
A day earlier, gas futures rallied to $2.786, the most since September 15, as forecasts for above-normal temperatures across most parts of the U.S. throughout most of summer raised expectations for power generation demand to meet air conditioning needs.
Natural gas prices are up nearly 40% since late May as expectations have grown that hot summer weather will lead to heavy demand.
Demand for natural gas tends to rise in the summer months as warmer temperatures increase the need for gas-fired electricity to power air conditioning.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in August inched up 23 cents, or 0.46%, to trade at $50.08 a barrel, while heating oil for July delivery tacked on 0.82% to trade at $1.529 per gallon.