Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures extended sharp gains on Thursday morning, climbing to a more than one-week high after data showed that natural gas supplies in storage in the U.S. fell more than expected last week.
Natural gas for February delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped almost 7% to a session peak of $3.450 per million British thermal units, a level not seen since January 3.
It was last at $3.427 by 10:35AM ET (15:35GMT), up 20.3 cents, or around 6.3%. Futures were at around $3.368 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. declined by 151 billion cubic feet in the week ended January 6, exceeding market expectations for a drop of 144 billion cubic feet.
That compared with a withdrawal of 49 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, 168 billion a year earlier and a five-year average drop of 167 billion cubic feet.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 3.160 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 10.3% lower than levels at this time a year ago and around 0.1% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Meanwhile, updated weather forecasts for the end of January turned colder, which should boost demand for the heating fuel. Weather models initially predicted mild temperatures throughout most parts of the U.S. during the period.
Natural-gas markets have been volatile in recent weeks, changing course rapidly in response to shifting outlooks in short-term weather patterns.
About half of U.S. homes use natural gas for heating.