Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures were higher on Tuesday, rising for the first time in five sessions as investors returned to the market to seek cheap valuations.
U.S. natural gas for September delivery was at $2.925 per million British thermal units by 10:10AM ET (1410GMT), up 4.3 cents, or around 1.5%. It fell to its lowest since July 10 at $2.866 in the prior session.
Prices ended lower for the fourth day in a row on Monday amid bearish weather forecasts that should limit demand for the fuel.
Natural gas prices have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting outlooks on summer cooling demand.
Nearly 50% of all U.S. households use gas for cooling.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 2.973 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 9.1% lower than levels at this time a year ago but 4.6% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Early market expectations for this week's storage data due on Thursday is for a build in a range between 22 and 32 billion cubic feet in the week ended July 21.
That compares with a gain of 28 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, an increase of 17 billion a year earlier and a five-year average rise of 47 billion cubic feet.