Investing.com - Natural gas futures extended gains on Thursday, after data showed U.S. natural gas supplies in storage fell more than expected last week.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ended December 4 fell by 76 billion cubic feet, compared to expectations for a decline of 64 billion.
That compared with a drawdown of 53 billion cubic feet in the prior week, 51 billion cubic feet in the same week last year, while the five-year average change for the week is a decline of 65 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.880 trillion cubic feet, 11.7% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 6.1% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Last spring, supplies were 55% below the five-year average, indicating producers have more than made up for all of last winter’s unusually strong demand.
Inventories of the gas are typically built up during the warm summer months and then drawn down in the winter as cold temperatures increase demand for the fuel.
Natural gas for delivery in January on the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on 2.5 cents, or 1.19%, to trade at $2.087 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours. Prices were at around $2.062 prior to the release of the supply data.
On Wednesday, natural gas shed 0.8 cents, or 0.39%, on forecasts for a warmer-than-normal start to winter due to the El Niño weather pattern.
Prices of the fuel typically rise ahead of the winter as colder weather sparks heating demand. But warmer temperatures throughout the autumn and early winter limited demand, underlining concerns over a deepening supply glut and driving prices to multi-year lows near $2 per million British thermal units at the end of October.
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 January inched down 15 cents, or 0.4%, to trade at $37.01 a barrel, while heating oil for January delivery shed 0.86% to trade at $1.228 per gallon.