Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures shook off earlier weakness to trade higher on Thursday, after data showed that domestic supplies in storage increased less than expected last week.
U.S. natural gas for November delivery was at $3.070 per million British thermal units by 10:43AM ET (1443GMT), up 0.9 cents, or around 0.3%. Futures were at around $3.035 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. rose by 58 billion cubic feet in the week ended Sept. 22, below forecasts for a build of 66 billion.
That compared with a gain of 97 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, a build of 49 billion a year earlier and a five-year average rise of 84 billion cubic feet.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 3.466 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, around 3.5% lower than levels at this time a year ago and mostly in line with the five-year average for this time of year.
Natural gas futures ended around 2% higher on Wednesday, boosted by bullish weather forecasts.
Warm high pressure will dominate the Great Lakes and east-central U.S. through early next week with highs of 80s and 90s, followed by cooling, as a fresh weather system arrives with showers and thunderstorms.