Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures re-approached an eight-month low hit earlier in the week on Wednesday, as investors readjusted positions ahead of Thursday’s closely-watched supply report to gauge the strength of cooling demand.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas for delivery in September fell to a session low of $3.755 per million British thermal units, before trimming losses to last trade at $3.761 during U.S. morning hours, down 1.66%, or 6.4 cents. Prices hit an eight-month low of $3.725 on July 28.
Futures were likely to find support at $3.725 per million British thermal units, the low from July 28 and resistance at $3.857, the high from July 28.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly storage report slated for release on Thursday was expected to show an increase of 92 billion cubic feet in the week ending July 25, well above the five-year average for the week.
Injections of gas into storage have surpassed the five-year average for 14 consecutive weeks, alleviating concerns over tightening supplies.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.219 trillion cubic feet as of last week, narrowing the deficit to the five-year average to 23.5%, down from a record 54.7% at the end of March.
Meanwhile, meteorologists continued to predict mild summer weather across much of the U.S. over the next five days, which was likely to limit demand for the fuel.
Demand for natural gas tends to fluctuate in the summer based on hot weather and air conditioning use.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, U.S.crude oil for delivery in September tacked on 0.52%, or 52 cents, to trade at $101.49 a barrel, while heating oil for September delivery inched up 0.1% to trade at $2.916 per gallon.