Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures struggled near a one-month low on Wednesday, as traders looked ahead to fresh weekly information on U.S. gas inventories to gauge the strength of demand for the fuel.
Natural gas for delivery in July on the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.1 cents, or 0.05%, to trade at $2.145 per million British thermal units by 13:30GMT, or 9:30AM ET.
A day earlier, gas futures sank 5.3 cents, or 2.41%, 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 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.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's storage report slated for release on Thursday is expected to show a build of approximately 67 billion cubic feet for the week ending May 20.
That compares with a gain of 73 billion cubic feet in the prior week, an increase of 112 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier and a five-year average rise of around 97 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.754 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 28.8% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 28.9% 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.
Natural gas prices are down nearly 15% so far this year as weak winter heating demand, near-record production and record-high storage levels dragged down prices.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in July tacked on 59 cents, or 1.21%, to trade at $49.21 a barrel, while heating oil for June delivery rose 1.48% to trade at $1.510 per gallon.