Investing.com - Natural gas prices soared on Thursday, hitting 7-week highs after a weekly U.S. stockpile report revealed inventories grew at a slower clip than markets were expecting.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in May traded at $4.739 per million British thermal units during U.S. trading, up 4.60%. The commodity hit session high of $4.739 and a low of $4.488.
The May contract settled down 0.81% on Wednesday to end at $4.530 per million British thermal units.
Natural gas futures were likely to find support at $4.488 per million British thermal units, the earlier low, and resistance at $5.207, the high from Feb. 24.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ending April 11 rose by 24 billion cubic feet after an increase of 4 billion cubic feet the previous week.
Analysts had expected an increase of 34 billion cubic feet last week, the lower-than-expected build sparked a rally in the market.
Severely cold weather over this past winter saw natural gas stockpiles fall to 11-year lows, sparking concerns that producers may not be able to refill inventories before the next heating season.
Producers typically replenish inventories between April and October, when demand is lower.
The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption. Approximately 52% of U.S. households use natural gas for heating, according to the Energy Department.
Spring and fall see the weakest demand for natural gas in the U.S, as the absence of extreme temperatures curbs demand for heating and air conditioning.
Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in May were up 0.56% and trading at $104.34 a barrel, while heating oil for May delivery were unchanged at $3.0107 per gallon.