Investing.com - Natural gas futures ticked higher on Wednesday, as investors looked ahead to weekly data from the U.S. on supplies in storage to gauge demand for the fuel.
Front-month U.S. natural gas futures rose 3.2 cents, or roughly 1.2%, to $2.729 per million British thermal units (btu) by 9:35AM ET (1335GMT).
The commodity ended modestly higher on Tuesday, as a cooler early-spring outlook boosted demand prospects for the fuel.
However, market experts warned that futures are likely to remain vulnerable in the near-term as spring usually sees the weakest demand for natural gas in the U.S.
The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption, as the absence of extreme temperatures curbs demand for heating and air conditioning.
Meanwhile, market participants looked ahead to this week's storage data due on Thursday, which is expected to show a draw of around 29 billion cubic feet (bcf) in the week ended March 30.
That compares with a decline of 63 bcf in the preceding week, an increase of 2 bcf a year earlier and a five-year average drop of 28 bcf.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 1.383 trillion cubic feet (tcf), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
That figure is 672 bcf, or around 32.7%, lower than levels at this time a year ago, and 346 bcf, or roughly 20.0%, below the five-year average for this time of year.
Record high domestic production levels have overshadowed the fact that stocks in storage are well below their seasonal averages for this time of year.