Natural gas futures up 1% to hit fresh 20-month hi Investing.com - Natural gas futures rose to a fresh 20-month high during early U.S. morning hours on Monday, as sentiment on the commodity remained upbeat amid receding concerns over U.S. inventory levels.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in May traded at USD4.165 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning trade, up 1% on the day.
Nymex gas prices rose by as much as 1.25% earlier in the day to hit a session high of USD4.178 per million British thermal units, the strongest level since August 2, 2011.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said last week that natural gas storage fell by 94 billion cubic feet, above expectations for a drop of 91 billion cubic feet.
The larger-than-expected drawdown saw total U.S. natural gas storage fall to 1.687 trillion cubic feet, 32% lower than last year at this time and 2.1% below the five-year average.
Gas inventories had held above the five-year average since September 2011.
Early withdrawal estimates for this week’s storage data range from 20 billion cubic feet to 36 billion cubic feet.
Inventories rose by 11 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change for the week is a rise of 15 billion cubic feet.
Meanwhile, prices found further support after weather forecasters predicted mostly cold weather in the Northeast and unusually cold weather across parts of the Midwest throughout the coming week.
Natural-gas prices have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting forecasts for late-winter heating demand and early-spring cooling needs.
Nymex gas prices have risen sharply in recent months, gaining almost 25% since mid-February, boosted by calls for colder temperatures in major consuming regions across the U.S. that helped tighten the market.
Still, some analysts have warned that further gains may be limited with spring's low-demand shoulder season looming.