Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures were down for the third session in a row on Wednesday, falling to an eight-week low as market players looked ahead to fresh weekly information on U.S. gas inventories to gauge the strength of demand for the fuel.
Natural gas for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by as much as 4.2% to a session low of $2.780 per million British thermal units, a level not seen since September 8.
It was last at $2.846 by 9:55AM ET (13:55GMT), down 5.6 cents, or 1.93%. A day earlier, the contract lost 12.4 cents, or 4.1%.
Market participants awaited weekly supply data due on Thursday, which is expected to show a build in a range between 49 and 59 billion cubic feet in the week ended October 28.
That compares with a gain of 73 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, 56 billion a year earlier and a five-year average build of 63 billion cubic feet.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 3.909 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 1.3% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 4.7% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Natural gas futures are down almost 9% so far this week as warmer-than-average weather in key gas-consuming regions in the U.S. ignited speculation that a mild winter will curtail demand for the heating fuel and leave a glut of it in storage, weighing on prices next year.
Gas futures often reach a seasonal low in October, when mild weather reduces demand, before recovering in the winter, when heating-fuel use peaks.