Forexpros – Natural gas futures rallied on Thursday, rebounding from the lowest level since October of last year after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said that natural gas inventories rose less-than-expected last week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in December traded at USD3.434 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning trade, surging 2.69%.
It earlier rose by as much as 3.1% to trade at USD3.475 per million British thermal units, the highest since November 15. Prices fell to USD3.324 per million British thermal units on Wednesday, the lowest since October 22, 2010.
The December contract traded at USD3.394 prior to the release of the U.S. Energy Information Administration report.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ended November 11 rose by 19 billion cubic feet, after increasing by 37 billion cubic feet in the preceding week.
Analysts had expected U.S. natural gas storage to rise by 25 billion cubic feet. Supplies declined by 1 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change is a buildup of 10 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at a record high of 3.850 trillion cubic feet. The previous high was 3.831 record in November of last year.
Stocks were 14 billion cubic feet higher than last year at this time and 224 billion cubic feet above the five-year average of 3.626 trillion cubic feet for this time of year.
The report showed that in the East Region, stocks were 58 billion cubic feet above the five-year average, following net injections of 9 billion cubic feet.
Stocks in the Producing Region were 148 billion cubic feet above the five-year average of 1.098 trillion cubic feet, after a net injection of 11 billion cubic feet.
Prices have been under pressure in recent weeks as mild weather in key gas-consuming regions in the U.S. limited early-season heating demand.
The Commodity Weather Group said that the central U.S. may remain warmer than normal through next week, while New England was forecast to have seasonal weather, limiting heating demand.
Natural gas prices have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting forecasts for late October and early November on heating demand.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in January tumbled 2.04% to trade at USD100.50 a barrel, while heating oil for December delivery dropped 1.52% to trade at USD3.086 per gallon.
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