Investing.com - U.S. natural gas prices tumbled on Monday, amid speculation the end of the winter heating season will bring warmer temperatures throughout the U.S. and cut into demand for the fuel.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas for delivery in April lost 8.5 cents, or 3.05%, to trade at $2.701 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours.
Meanwhile, the May natural gas contract sank 7.7 cents, or 2.75%, to hit $2.726.
On Friday, the front-month April contract declined 2.7 cents, or 0.96%, to settle at $2.786.
Updated weather forecasting models for the lower 48 U.S. states showed that temperatures will remain near-normal through the end of the month.
Spring usually sees the weakest demand for natural gas in the U.S, as the absence of extreme temperatures curbs demand for heating and air conditioning.
Sentiment is likely to remain vulnerable in the near-term as the coldest part of the winter has effectively passed and below-normal temperatures in March mean less than they do in January and February.
The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.
Approximately 49% of U.S. households use natural gas for heating, according to the Energy Department.
Indications that supplies are more than ample to meet demand also weighed.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 1.467 trillion cubic feet as of last week, 52.8% above year-ago levels and 13.3% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Last spring, supplies were 55% below the five-year average, indicating producers have made up for most of last winter’s unusually strong demand.
The Energy Information Administration's next storage report slated for release on March 26 is expected to show a withdrawal of approximately 10 billion cubic feet for the week ending March 20.
Supplies fell by 56 billion in the same week last year, while the five-year average change is a decline of 19 billion cubic feet.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in May dropped 37 cents, or 0.79%, to trade at $46.20 a barrel, while heating oil for April delivery slumped 0.42% to trade at $1.727 per gallon.