Investing.com - Natural gas futures extended gains to hit a two-week high on Thursday, after data showed U.S. natural gas supplies in storage fell more than expected last week.
Natural gas for delivery in January on the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on 4.9 cents, or 2.5%, to trade at $2.032 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours, the most since December 10. Prices were at around $2.016 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 December 18 fell by 32 billion cubic feet, more than expectations for a decline of 25 billion.
That compared with a drawdown of 34 billion cubic feet in the prior week, 49 billion cubic feet in the same week last year, while the five-year average change for the week is a decline of 140 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.814 trillion cubic feet, 14.7% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 10.8% above the five-year average for this time of year.
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.
On Wednesday, natural gas soared 9.5 cents, or 5.03%, after updated weather forecasting models pointed to cooler temperatures across the central U.S. in the coming days, following a warm spell which took prices to the lowest level since March 1999 last week. Prices fell to a 17-year low of $1.684 on December 18, as mild pre-winter weather took a toll on prices.
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.
Prices of the fuel are down nearly 30% so far this year, as weak demand and healthy stockpiles weighed.
Elsewhere on the Nymex, crude oil for delivery in February inched up 31 cents, or 0.83%, to trade at $37.81 a barrel, while heating oil for January delivery added 0.34% to trade at $1.122 per gallon.