Investing.com – U.S. natural gas futures initially extended losses in North American trade on Thursday, despite data showed that natural gas supplies in storage in the U.S. rose less than expected last week.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that in the U.S. rose by 51 billion cubic feet in the week ended October 13, while analysts had forecast an increase of 55 billion.
After the release and despite the bullish reading, for delivery in November on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost 2.1 cents, or about 0.74%, to trade at $2.833 per million British thermal units by 10:32AM ET (14:32GMT).
Futures had been dropping by just 0.1 cents, or around 0.04%, at $2.853 prior to the release of the supply data.
That compared with a build of 87 billion cubic feet (bcf) in the preceding week and represented a decline of 179 billion from a year earlier and was 35 bcf below the five-year average.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.646 trillion cubic feet, 4.7% lower than levels at this time a year ago and 1.0% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Gas futures often reach a seasonal low in October, when mild weather weakens demand, before recovering in the winter, when heating-fuel use peaks.
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Source: Investing.com
