Investing.com - U.S. natural gas prices turned higher on Tuesday after hitting a three-week low earlier, as investors monitored near-term weather forecasts to gauge the strength of demand for the fuel.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas for delivery in April touched a session low of $2.649 per million British thermal units, a level not seen since February 10, before trading at $2.713 during U.S. morning hours, up 1.5 cents, or 0.54%.
Futures were likely to find support at $2.638 per million British thermal units, the low from February 10, and resistance at $2.753, the high from March 2.
A day earlier, natural gas for delivery in April fell 3.6 cents, or 1.32%, to close at $2.698, as extended forecasts called for warmer weather across the majority of the U.S. in the second week of March.
Bearish speculators are betting on the warm weather reducing late-winter demand for the heating fuel.
The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.
Ongoing concerns over ample supplies also weighed. Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 1.938 trillion cubic feet as of last week, 1.5% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Last spring, supplies were 55% below the five-year average, indicating producers have more than made up for last winter’s unusually strong demand.
Futures are down almost 40% since mid-November as an unusually mild start to winter limited demand while production soared.
The Energy Information Administration's next storage report slated for release on March 5 is expected to show a withdrawal of approximately 220 billion cubic feet for the week ending February 27, as a recent cold blast stoked heating demand.
The five-year average change for the week is a decline of 116 billion cubic feet, while supplies fell by 189 billion the same time last year.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in April eased up 7 cents, or 0.14%, to trade at $49.66 a barrel, while heating oil for April delivery rallied 1.74% to trade at $1.920 per gallon.