Yahoo Finance Natural Gas Futures Bounce Back on Bets for Hefty Storage Withdrawal
Investing.com - Natural gas futures bounced back on Wednesday, re-approaching their highest level in around two months as investors speculated this week’s supply report will show another hefty drop as cold weather boosts demand.
Front-month U.S. natural gas futures rose 3.7 cents, or around 1.2%, to $3.164 per million British thermal units (btu) by 10:10AM ET (1510GMT). It touched its best level since Nov. 15 at $3.224 last Friday.
U.S. gas futures lost 2.2% on Tuesday as updated weather forecasts showed a return to seasonal temperatures after an extreme cold spell in the eastern U.S.
Below freezing temperatures will continue to linger across most parts of the Northeast through Jan. 20, with light snow expected throughout the region.
However, Northeast temperatures were expected to return to seasonal levels from Jan. 21-to-28, with mild conditions dominating during the period, according to updated weather forecasting models.
Market participants looked ahead to this week's storage data due on Thursday, which is expected to show a draw of 201 billion cubic feet (bcf) in the week ended Jan. 12.
That compares with a whopping decline of 359 bcf in the preceding week, which was the highest on record, a fall of 243 bcf a year earlier and a five-year average drop of 203 bcf.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 2.767 trillion cubic feet (tcf), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That figure is 415 bcf, or around 13.0%, lower than levels at this time a year ago and 382 bcf, or roughly 12.1%, below the five-year average for this time of year.
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