Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures were higher in North American trade on Wednesday, as traders looked ahead to fresh weekly information on U.S. gas inventories to gauge the strength of demand for the fuel.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's storage report slated for release on Thursday is expected to show a build of approximately 20 billion cubic feet for the week ending March 18.
That compares with draws of 1 billion cubic feet in the prior week and a five-year average of around 24 billion for this time of year.
Total U.S. natural gas in storage currently stands at 2.479 trillion cubic feet, 36.8% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 29.4% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Some market experts worry that stockpiles at the end of March will hit at an all-time high of around 2.5 trillion cubic feet, topping the end-of-withdrawal-season high of 2.369 set in 2012.
Natural gas for delivery in April on the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on 2.2 cents, or 1.18%, to trade at $1.885 per million British thermal units by 13:50GMT, or 9:50AM ET.
On Tuesday, natural gas fell to a one-week low of $1.796, before turning higher to settle at $1.863, up 3.5 cents, or 1.91%.
Natural gas futures are down nearly 18% so far this year as weak winter heating demand, near-record production and record-high storage levels dragged down prices.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in May slumped 84 cents, or 2.03%, to trade at $40.61 a barrel, while heating oil for April delivery dropped 1.69% to trade at $1.230 per gallon.