Investing.com - Natural gas futures surged to their highest level in roughly four years on Monday, as cold weather forecasts for most parts of the United States over the next two weeks boosted expectations for heating demand.
U.S. natural gas futures jumped 8.5 cents, or around 2.3%, to $3.804 per million British thermal units by 9:05AM ET (1405GMT), having earlier reached its best level since December 2014 at $3.906.
Futures surged 13.2% last week, marking the largest weekly percentage climb since the week ended Jan. 12 of this year
Forecasts are now pointing to temperatures in mid-November that are more typical of the middle of December, with cold bursts expected in the Midwest, across Texas and the South and throughout New England.
Natural gas prices typically rise ahead of the winter as colder weather sparks indoor-heating demand.
The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.
Meanwhile, market participants looked ahead to storage data for the week ending November 9, due out on Thursday.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 3.208 trillion cubic feet (tcf), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the lowest level for this time of year in around 15 years.
The last time supplies were this low in the first week of November was in 2003.