Investing.com - Natural gas futures pushed higher on Thursday to move away from the prior session's three-year low after data showed that U.S. natural gas supplies rose less than expected last week.
Natural gas for delivery in November on the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on 2.9 cents, or 1.21%, to trade at $2.433 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours. Prices were at around $2.412 prior to the release of the supply data.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ended October 16 rose by 81 billion cubic feet, below expectations for an increase of 88 billion.
That compared with builds of 100 billion cubic feet in the prior week, 94 billion cubic feet in the same week last year, while the five-year average change for the week is an increase of 84 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.814 trillion cubic feet. Stocks were 434 billion cubic feet higher than last year at this time and 163 billion cubic feet above the five-year average of 3.651 trillion cubic feet for this time of year.
Stockpiles are set to reach a record by the end of this month. The EIA sees storage levels peaking at 3.956 trillion in November, which would top the November 2012 high of 3.929 trillion.
A day earlier, natural gas futures lost 7.2 cents, or 2.91%. It earlier fell to $2.379, the lowest since June 2012, after updated forecasting models showed that unseasonably warm readings will spread throughout most of the country next week.
Natural gas prices have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting outlooks on early-winter heating demand.
The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in December rose 32 cents, or 0.71%, to trade at $45.51 a barrel, while heating oil for November delivery advanced 0.65% to trade at $1.459 per gallon.