Investing.com - Natural gas futures tumbled on Thursday, extending losses after data showed that domestic supplies in storage fell less than forecast last week.
U.S. natural gas futures sank 10.8 cents, or around 3.4%, to $3.071 per million British thermal units by 10:45AM ET (1545GMT). Futures were at around $3.078 prior to the release of the supply data.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. fell by 33 billion cubic feet (bcf) in the week ended Nov. 24, compared to forecasts for a withdrawal of 37 bcf.
That compared with a drop of 46 bcf in the preceding week, a fall of 50 bcf a year earlier and a five-year average decline of 47 bcf.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 3.693 trillion cubic feet (tcf), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That figure is 309 bcf, or around 7.7%, lower than levels at this time a year ago and 107 bcf, or roughly 2.8%, below the five-year average for this time of year.
Analysts estimated the amount of gas in storage would end the April-October injection season at 3.8 tcf due primarily to higher liquefied natural gas shipments abroad. That would fall short of the year-earlier record of 4.0 tcf and the five-year average of 3.9 tcf.
Natural gas prices rallied for the third-straight session on Wednesday, reaching their best level since Nov. 13 at $3.218, as bullish speculators placed bets that a return to cold winter weather will boost demand for the heating fuel.
Natural gas futures have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting outlooks on early-winter heating demand.
Prices of the fuel typically rise ahead of the winter as colder weather sparks heating demand.
The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.