© Reuters. Natural gas futures remain higher after U.S. storage data Investing.com – Natural gas futures held on to sharp gains on Thursday, the last trading day of the year, after data showed U.S. natural gas supplies in storage fell more than expected last week.
for delivery in February on the New York Mercantile Exchange rallied 11.1 cents, or 5.04%, to trade at $ 2.325 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours. Prices were at around $ 2.333 prior to the release of the supply data.
Trading volumes are expected to remain light, reducing liquidity in the market which could result in exaggerated moves.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that in the U.S. in the week ended December 25 fell by 58 billion cubic feet, broadly in line with expectations for a decline of 57 billion.
That compared with a drawdown of 32 billion cubic feet in the prior week, 26 billion cubic feet in the same week last year, while the five-year average change for the week is a drawdown of 98 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.756 trillion cubic feet, 14.2% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 12.0% above the five-year average for this time of year.
, as updated weather forecasting models predicted that chilly winter conditions across the U.S. Midwest and Northeast are not expected to last for more than a week.
Natural gas typically rises ahead of the winter as colder weather sparks heating demand, yet an unusually mild start to winter due to the El Niño weather phenomenon has limited the amount of heating days.
The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.
Prices of the fuel are up nearly 26% since falling to a 17-year low of $ 1.684 on December 18, as forecasts called for a return to cool weather, following a warm spell. Despite recent gains, prices of the fuel are still down nearly 20% so far this year, as weak demand and healthy stockpiles weighed.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, for delivery in February tacked on 4 cents, or 0.11%, to trade at $ 36.64 a barrel, while for February delivery inched up 0.7% to trade at $ 1.118 per gallon.
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