Natural Gas Futures Continue Higher on Bets for Massive Storage Withdrawal

Investing.com – Natural gas futures ticked higher for the third session in a row on Wednesday, as investors speculated this week’s supply report will show the largest drop on record as cold weather boosts demand.

tacked on 1.9 cents, or around 0.7%, to $2.942 per million British thermal units (btu) by 8:15AM ET (1315GMT).

It surged 8.8 cents, or 3.1%, on Tuesday as freezing temperatures stoked demand for the heating fuel across the U.S. Northeast.

Early withdrawal estimates for this Thursday’s range from 320 billion cubic feet to 345 billion cubic feet.

That would surpass the record draw of 287 billion cubic feet in the week ended Jan. 10, 2014, Energy Information Administration data showed.

The five-year average change for the week is a decline of 170 billion cubic feet.

Natural gas supplies fell by 206 billion cubic feet last week to 3.126 trillion cubic feet, approximately 5.8% lower than the five-year average for this time of year.

Prices have gained around 5% so far this week as investors reacted to the severe winter storm hitting much of the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.

Bullish speculators are betting that the cool weather will increase demand for the heating fuel. The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.

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