Investing.com - Natural gas futures extended losses on Thursday, after data showed that U.S. natural gas supplies rose more than expected last week.
Natural gas for delivery in October on the New York Mercantile Exchange tumbled 4.4 cents, or 1.65%, to trade at $2.659 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours. Prices were at around $2.683 prior to the release of the supply data.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ended August 21 rose by 69 billion cubic feet, above expectations for an increase of 59 billion.
That compared with builds of 53 billion cubic feet in the prior week, 77 billion cubic feet in the same week last year, while the five-year average change for the week was an increase of 61 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.099 trillion cubic feet as of last week. Stocks were 480 billion cubic feet higher than last year at this time and 88 billion cubic feet above the five-year average of 3.011 trillion cubic feet for this time of year.
A day earlier, natural gas prices inched up 0.8 cents, or 0.3%, to end at $2.703, as market players weighed shifting weather forecasts to assess the outlook for U.S. demand and supply levels.
Updated weather forecasting models showed that most parts of the southern and western U.S. will be engulfed by hot temperatures in the coming days. However, cooler weather was expected across most parts of the Great Lakes, Northeast and Midwest-regions as the week progresses.
Demand for natural gas tends to fluctuate in the summer based on hot weather and air conditioning use. Natural gas accounts for about a quarter of U.S. electricity generation.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in October rallied $1.88, or 4.87%, to trade at $40.48 a barrel, while heating oil for September delivery jumped 4.03% to trade at $1.436 per gallon.