Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures edged lower on Thursday, after data showed that natural gas supplies in storage in the U.S. rose more than expected last week.
U.S. natural gas for July shed 2.5 cents, or around 0.8%, to $2.995 per million British thermal units by 10:35AM ET (1435GMT). Futures were at around $3.010 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 106 billion cubic feet in the week ended June 2, above forecasts for a build of 98 billion.
That compared with a gain of 81 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, an increase of 65 billion a year earlier and a five-year average rise of 94 billion cubic feet.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 2.631 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 11.2% lower than levels at this time a year ago but 9.0% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Natural gas futures settled lower for seventh time in the past eight sessions on Wednesday after falling to its lowest since March 20 at $2.935 at the start of the week.
Prices of the commodity have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting outlooks on summer heating demand.
Gas use typically hits a seasonal low with spring's mild temperatures, before warmer weather increases demand for gas-fired electricity generation to power air conditioning.
Nearly 50% of all U.S. households use gas for heating.