Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures fell more than 1% on Wednesday, as investors locked in gains from the previous day's rally ahead of Thursday’s closely-watched supply report.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas for delivery in September tumbled 1.17%, or 4.5 cents, to trade at $3.832 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours.
A day earlier, natural gas futures surged 2.24%, or 8.5 cents, to settle at $3.877 as forecasts showed hotter-than-normal summer temperatures in the U.S. Midwest.
Futures were likely to find support at $3.727 per million British thermal units, the low from August 18 and resistance at $3.915, the high from August 19.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly storage report slated for release on Thursday is expected to show an increase of 82 billion cubic feet in the week ending August 15.
Inventories rose by 58 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change is a build of 48 billion cubic feet.
Injections of gas into storage have surpassed the five-year average for 17 consecutive weeks, alleviating concerns over tightening supplies.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.467 trillion cubic feet as of last week, narrowing the deficit to the five-year average to 18.9% from 20.3% a week earlier and down from a record 54.7% at the end of March.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in October eased up 0.57%, or 53 cents, to trade at $93.39 a barrel, while heating oil for September delivery tacked on 0.4% to trade at $2.828 per gallon.