Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures climbed to an eight-month high on Wednesday, as updated weather forecasting models continued to show above-normal temperatures across most parts of the U.S. over the next two weeks.
Natural gas for delivery in July on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose to a daily peak of $2.501 per million British thermal units, the most since October 15. It last stood at $2.476 by 13:35GMT, or 9:35AM ET, up 0.2 cents, or 0.08%.
A day earlier, natural gas futures tacked on 0.8 cents, or 0.32%, as warmer weather lifted cooling demand prospects for the fuel.
Demand for natural gas tends to rise in the summer months as warmer temperatures increase the need for gas-fired electricity to power air conditioning.
Natural gas prices have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting outlooks on early summer cooling demand.
Gas use typically hits a seasonal low with spring's mild temperatures, before warmer weather increases demand for gas-fired electricity generation to power air conditioning.
Meanwhile, traders looked ahead to fresh weekly information on U.S. gas inventories to gauge the strength of demand for the fuel.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's storage report slated for release on Thursday is expected to show a build of approximately 77 billion cubic feet for the week ending June 3.
That compared with builds of 82 billion cubic feet in the prior week, 117 billion a year earlier and a five-year average of 96 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.907 trillion cubic feet as of last week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 24.5% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 25.9% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Unless intense summer heat boosts demand from power plants, stockpiles will test physical storage limits of 4.3 trillion cubic feet at the end of October.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in July tacked on 70 cents, or 1.39%, to trade at $51.06 a barrel, while heating oil for July delivery increased 1.58% to trade at $1.565 per gallon.