Investing.com – Natural gas futures bounced back from the prior session’s losses on Tuesday, but gains were limited amid speculation that the coming of more spring-like weather will cut into demand for the fuel.
Front-month rose 4.5 cents, or around 1.6%, to $2.808 per million British thermal units (btu) by 10:10AM ET (1410GMT).
The commodity lost 0.8 cents, or 0.3%, on Monday.
Market experts warned that futures are likely to remain vulnerable in the near-term as below-normal temperatures in May mean less than they do in January and February.
Spring usually sees the weakest demand for natural gas in the U.S, as the absence of extreme temperatures curbs demand for heating and air conditioning.
Meanwhile, market participants looked ahead to this week’s storage data due on Thursday, which is expected to show the first build of the season.
Analysts forecast an increase in a range between 43 and 53 billion cubic feet (bcf) for the week ended April 27. If confirmed, it would be the first build of the storage injection season.
That compares with a decline of 18 bcf in the preceding week, an increase of 67 bcf a year earlier and a five-year average rise of 69 bcf.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 1.281 trillion cubic feet (tcf), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
That figure is 897 bcf, or around 41.2%, lower than levels at this time a year ago, and 527 bcf, or roughly 29.1%, below the five-year average for this time of year.
Record high domestic production levels have overshadowed the fact that stocks in storage are well below their seasonal averages for this time of year.
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Source: Investing.com
