Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures recovered from a heavy fall in the prior session on Thursday, but stayed near the lowest level in around four months amid bearish weather forecasts that should limit demand for the fuel.
U.S. natural gas for August delivery was at $2.883 per million British thermal units by 8:50AM ET (1250GMT), up 4.1 cents, or around 1.5%.
It sank almost 4% on Wednesday to notch its fourth losing session in a row after sliding to the lowest level since March 7 at $2.832.
Temperatures are likely to be mostly normal in the eastern third of the U.S. during the next two weeks, according to updated weather forecasting models, underlining concern over decreased summer demand in the weeks ahead.
Prices have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting outlooks on summer heating demand.
Gas use typically hits a seasonal low with spring's mild temperatures, before warmer weather increases demand for gas-fired electricity generation to power air conditioning.
Nearly 50% of all U.S. households use gas for heating.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 2.816 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 10.2% lower than levels at this time a year ago but 6.4% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Market participants looked ahead to weekly storage data due on Friday, which is expected to show a build in a range between 57 and 69 billion cubic feet in the week ended June 30.
That compares with a gain of 46 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, an increase of 39 billion a year earlier and a five-year average rise of 66 billion cubic feet.
The report comes out one day later than usual due to the U.S. Independence Day holiday earlier this week.