Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures moved higher on Thursday, after data showed that domestic supplies in storage increased broadly in line with market expectations last week.
U.S. natural gas futures rose around 4.0 cents, or about 1.4%, to $2.937 per million British thermal units by 10:35AM ET (1435GMT). Futures were at around $2.926 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. rose by 65 billion cubic feet (bcf) in the week ended Oct. 27, compared to forecasts for a build of 62 billion.
That compared with a gain of 64 bcf in the preceding week, a build of 54 bcf a year earlier and a five-year average rise of 60 bcf.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 3.775 trillion cubic feet (tcf), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That figure is 180 bcf, or around 4.5%, lower than levels at this time a year ago and 41 bcf, or roughly 1.1%, 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.
Futures recovered from an early decline to end little changed on Wednesday as traders monitored near-term weather models to gauge demand for the heating fuel.
Gas futures often reach a seasonal low in October, when mild weather weakens demand, before recovering in the winter, when heating-fuel use peaks.
The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.