Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures were lower on Wednesday, declining for the fifth time in six sessions, as investors looked ahead to weekly data from the U.S. on supplies in storage to gauge demand for the fuel.
U.S. natural gas for September delivery was at $2.902 per million British thermal units by 9:10AM ET (1310GMT), down 2.6 cents, or around 0.9%.
Prices snapped a four-day losing streak on Tuesday as traders tracked weather forecasts to gauge the impact of shifting outlooks on summer cooling demand.
Nearly 50% of all U.S. households use gas for cooling.
Market participants looked ahead to weekly storage data due on Thursday, which is expected to show a build in a range between 22 and 32 billion cubic feet in the week ended July 21.
That compares with a gain of 28 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, an increase of 17 billion a year earlier and a five-year average rise of 47 billion cubic feet.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 2.973 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 9.1% lower than levels at this time a year ago but 4.6% above the five-year average for this time of year.