Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures slumped to four-week lows on Monday, after the latest U.S. weather model called for mild temperatures over the next two weeks, which should reduce heating demand during that time.
Natural gas for delivery in June on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell to a session low of $2.023 per million British thermal units, a level not seen since April 19, before recovering slightly to trade at $2.040 by 14:24GMT, or 10:24AM ET, down 5.6 cents, or 2.67%.
Natural gas prices have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting outlooks on spring heating demand.
Gas use typically hits a seasonal low with spring's mild temperatures, before warmer weather increases demand for gas-fired electricity generation to power air conditioning.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.681 trillion cubic feet as of last week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 44% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 43.5% 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.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in June rallied $1.51, or 3.27%, to trade at $47.72 a barrel, while heating oil for June delivery surged 3.63% to trade at $1.454 per gallon.