Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures edged higher on Wednesday, recouping some of the prior session's more than 3% decline as “potentially catastrophic” Hurricane Irma headed for American shores.
Another Tropical Storm, Jose, is gathering strength in the Atlantic and may shape up as another hurricane.
The weather threats come after Hurricane Harvey caused flooding and devastation in Texas less than two weeks ago, forcing the closure of several refineries and pipelines.
Energy traders track tropical weather in the event it disrupts production in the Gulf of Mexico.
U.S. natural gas for October delivery was at $2.997 per million British thermal units by 9:05AM ET (1305GMT), up 2.5 cents, or around 0.9%.
Futures sank 9.8 cents, or 3.2%, on Tuesday, as traders began to react to the reality that higher summer demand for the commodity is coming to an end.
Summer heat has waned and cooler temperatures beckon with the approach of autumn, when gas demand typically slackens and prices fall.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 3.155 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, around 7.0% lower than levels at this time a year ago and less than 1.0% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Early market expectations for this week's storage data due on Thursday is for a build in a range between 58 and 67 billion cubic feet in the week ended September 1.
That compares with a gain of 30 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, a build of 36 billion a year earlier and a five-year average rise of 58 billion cubic feet.