Investing.com - The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. increased by 66 billion cubic feet in the week ended June 22, compared to forecasts for a build of 73 billion.
Thursday’s data compared with a gain of 95 billion cubic feet (bcf) in the preceding week and represented a decline of 735 billion from a year earlier and was also 501 bcf below the five-year average.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.074 trillion cubic feet, 26.2% lower than levels at this time a year ago and also 19.5% below the five-year average for this time of year.
After the report, natural gas for delivery in August on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 1.4 cents, or about 0.5%, to trade at $2.995 per million British thermal units by 10:35AM ET (14:35GMT).
Futures had been advancing 3.3 cents, or about 1.1%, at $3.014 prior to the release of the supply data.
Despite trimming gains, the commodity was still on track for its third straight daily advance on the back of weather forecasts for hotter weather across the country.
In its forecasts for July 9-11, the NatGasWeather.com predicted for temperatures to be a little hotter. The country is expected to generally see temperatures from warm to above-normal levels through mid-July.
Demand for natural gas tends to rise in the summer months as warmer temperatures increase the need for gas-fired electricity to power air conditioning.
Investors will also be keeping an eye on the EIA’s monthly production report due on Friday with concerns surrounding increasing output.
Genscape indicated on Monday that production volume was more than 1 Bcf/d higher than last week’s volumes and are hovering near record levels.