Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures declined for a second day in a row on Tuesday, amid speculation that July heat won’t prevent stockpiles from reaching a record before the winter.
Natural gas for delivery in September on the New York Mercantile Exchange shed 3.7 cents, or 1.36%, to trade at $2.675 per million British thermal units by 14:26GMT, or 10:26AM ET. A day earlier, prices lost 3.1 cents, or 1.13%.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.277 trillion cubic feet as of last week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 14.4% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 17.1% above the five-year average for this time of year.
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.
This week's storage report slated for release on Thursday is expected to show a build in a range between 19 billion to 31 billion cubic feet for the week ending July 22.
That compares 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.