Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures declined on Monday, falling for the first time in three sessions as investors locked in gains after prices climbed to a four-week high on Friday.
Natural gas for delivery in September on the New York Mercantile Exchange shed 4.9 cents, or 1.7%, to trade at $2.827 per million British thermal units by 13:40GMT, or 9:40AM ET.
On Friday, prices climbed to $2.911, the most since July 5, as sentiment improved after a government report showed the smallest inventory gain in a decade.
Natural gas storage in the U.S. rose by 17 billion cubic feet last week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the smallest storage injection for the same period since a withdrawal was reported in 2006.
That came in below forecasts for an increase of 26 billion and compared with an increase of 34 billion cubic feet in the prior week, 49 billion a year earlier and a five-year average of 52 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.294 trillion cubic feet, 13.2% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 15.9% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Natural gas prices climbed 3.5% last week as investors bet a heat wave making its way across the continental U.S. will prompt households to ramp up their air conditioning.
Parts of the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic will experience a heat wave this week. The heat will persist into next month, according to updated weather forecasting models.
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.
Unless intense summer heat boosts demand from power plants, stockpiles will test physical storage limits of 4.3 trillion cubic feet at the end of October.