Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures rose for the seventh session in a row on Monday to hit the highest level in eight weeks as forecasts for warmer than normal temperatures across most parts of the continental U.S. in the days ahead boosted demand expectations for the cooling fuel.
Natural gas for delivery in October on the New York Mercantile Exchange touched an intraday peak of $2.931 per million British thermal units, the most since July 5.
It was last at $2.924 by 10:28AM ET (14:28GMT), up 1.1 cents, or 0.38%.
Futures soared more than 11% last week as traders reacted to forecasts for scorching heat across most of the continental U.S. through September 5 and as traders eyed potential storm activity in the Gulf of Mexico.
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.
Meanwhile, U.S. storage levels remained in focus. Total gas in storage currently stands at 3.350 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 8.3% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 8.2% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Some market analysts said persistent heat late into the season could push power generators to continue burning gas.
Unless intense late-summer heat boosts demand from power plants, stockpiles could possibly test physical storage limits of 4.3 trillion cubic feet at the end of October.