Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures rallied sharply in North America trade on Thursday, after data showed that natural gas supplies in storage in the U.S. rose less than expected last week.
Natural gas for delivery in September on the New York Mercantile Exchange spiked 14.0 cents, or 5.26%, to trade at $2.800 per million British thermal units by 14:35GMT, or 10:35AM ET. Prices were at around $2.730 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. in the week ended July 22 rose by 17 billion cubic feet, below forecasts for an increase of 26 billion.
That compared 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 3.294 trillion cubic feet, 13.2% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 15.9% above the five-year average for this time of year.
A day earlier, prices lost 1.7 cents, or 0.64%, amid speculation that July heat won’t prevent stockpiles from reaching a record before the winter.
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.