Investing.com - Natural gas futures edged lower on Wednesday, as forecasts for mild weather in the near-term was expected to reduce demand for the heating fuel.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in April fell to a session low of $4.421 per million British thermal units, the weakest level since March 14.
Nymex natural gas prices last traded at $4.446 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours, down 0.22%, or 0.9 cents. The April contract lost 1.76%, or 8.0 cents, on Tuesday to settle at $4.456 per million British thermal units.
Futures were likely to find support at $4.341 per million British thermal units, the low from March 14 and resistance at $4.587, the high from March 17.
The Commodity Weather Group said the weather would be mostly normal in parts of the Midwest and Southeast through March 22 before turning colder.
Meanwhile, market players looked ahead to Thursday’s closely-watched weekly supply data to gauge the strength of demand for the fuel. Early withdrawal estimates data range from 53 billion cubic feet to 100 billion cubic feet.
Stockpiles declined by 74 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier while the five-year average change for the week is a drop of 30 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 1.001 trillion cubic feet as of last week, the lowest for this time of year since 2003.
Prices slumped to a seven-week low of $4.341 per million British thermal units on March 14, amid concerns that the arrival of spring will bring warmer temperatures throughout the U.S. and cut into demand for heating.
The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption. Approximately 52% of U.S. households use natural gas for heating, according to the Energy Department.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in May shed 0.28%, or 28 cents, to trade at $98.60 a barrel, while heating oil for April delivery dipped 0.67% to trade at $2.896 per gallon.