Investing.com - Natural gas futures pushed higher to move further away from the lowest level in more than three years on Thursday after data showed natural gas supplies rose less than expected last week.
Natural gas for delivery in December on the New York Mercantile Exchange soared 7.1 cents, or 3.07%, to trade at $2.369 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours. Prices were at around $2.347 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 23 rose by 63 billion cubic feet, below expectations for an increase of 69 billion.
That compared with builds of 81 billion cubic feet in the prior week, 87 billion cubic feet in the same week last year, while the five-year average change for the week is an increase of 81 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.877 trillion cubic feet. Stocks were 409 billion cubic feet higher than last year at this time and 153 billion cubic feet above the five-year average of 3.724 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 prices lost 6.3 cents, or 2.67%, after updated forecasting models showed that unseasonably warm readings will persist in much of the country through November 6, dampening demand expectations for the fuel.
Bearish speculators are betting on the warm weather reducing early-winter demand for the heating fuel.
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 62 cents, or 1.35%, to trade at $46.56 a barrel, while heating oil for December delivery tacked on 0.76% to trade at $1.515 per gallon.