Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures fell on Wednesday, as investors locked in gains from the previous session's sharp rally ahead of Thursday’s closely-watched supply report.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas for delivery in October declined 0.94%, or 3.7 cents, to trade at $3.947 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours.
A day earlier, prices hit a one-week high of $4.016 before settling at $3.984, up 10.8 cents, or 2.79%, as forecasts showing colder-than-normal temperatures boosted near-term demand expectations for the fuel.
Futures were likely to find support at $3.761 per million British thermal units, the low from September 8 and resistance at $4.016, the high from September 9.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly storage report slated for release on Thursday is expected to show an increase of 79 billion cubic feet for the week ending September 5.
Inventories rose by 64 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change is a build of 60 billion cubic feet.
Injections of gas into storage have surpassed the five-year average for 20 consecutive weeks, alleviating concerns over tightening supplies.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.709 trillion cubic feet as of last week, narrowing the deficit to the five-year average to 15.4% from 17% a week earlier and down from a record 54.7% at the end of March.
Meanwhile, updated weather forecasting models pointed to cooler-than-normal temperatures in some Northern Tier states along the Canadian border over the next two weeks.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in October shed 0.31%, or 28 cents, to trade at $92.47 a barrel, while heating oil for October delivery dipped 0.44% to trade at $2.779 per gallon.