Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures snapped a two-day losing streak 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 September on the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on 1.5 cents, or 0.56%, to trade at $2.692 per million British thermal units by 13:38GMT, or 9:38AM ET.
A day earlier, prices lost 3.5 cents, or 1.29%, amid speculation that July heat won’t prevent stockpiles from reaching a record before the winter.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's storage report slated for release on Thursday is expected to show a build of approximately 29 billion cubic feet for the week ending July 15.
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.
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.
Natural gas prices are down nearly 10% since reaching a 13-month high on July 1 amid speculation a stockpile glut may persist through the end of the year.