Investing.com - Natural gas futures edged back down towards their lowest level in around six weeks on Wednesday, as forecasts for less heating demand in the near term continued to weigh.
Front-month U.S. natural gas futures shed 3.3 cents, or around 1.2%, to $2.726 per million British thermal units (btu) by 9:10AM ET (1410GMT).
It reached its worst level since Dec. 27 at $2.694 on Tuesday, before turning higher to close in positive territory for the first time in six sessions.
The commodity has been on the backfoot this week after weather forecasts showed that temperatures across key parts of the U.S. won't be as cold as previously expected.
Updated weather forecasting models showed that temperatures won't be as cold as previously expected through both the upcoming six- to 10-day and eight- to 14-day periods.
Bearish speculators are betting that the mild weather will reduce winter demand for the heating fuel. The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.
Meanwhile, market participants looked ahead to this week's storage data due on Thursday, which is expected to show a draw in a range between 107 and 122 billion cubic feet (bcf) in the week ended Feb. 2.
That compares with a decline of 99 bcf in the preceding week, a fall of 152 bcf a year earlier and a five-year average drop of 151 bcf.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 2.197 trillion cubic feet (tcf), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
That figure is 526 bcf, or around 19.3%, lower than levels at this time a year ago and 425 bcf, or roughly 16.2%, below the five-year average for this time of year.