Natural gas futures tumble 2% after U.S. supply data

Natural gas futures extended losses on Thursday, falling to the lowest level of the session after a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that natural gas supplies rose more-than-expected last week.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in July traded at USD3.889 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning trade, down 1.9% on the day.       

It earlier fell by as much as 2.7% to hit a session low of USD3.855 per million British thermal units.

The July contract traded at USD3.887 prior to the release of the U.S. Energy Information Administration report.  

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ended June 14 rose by 91 billion cubic feet, below market expectations for an increase of 90 billion.

Inventories rose by 63 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change for the week is a rise of 80 billion cubic feet.

Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.438 trillion cubic feet as of last week. Stocks were 559 billion cubic feet less than last year at this time and 47 billion cubic feet below the five-year average of 2.485 trillion cubic feet for this time of year.

The report showed that in the East Region, stocks were 94 billion cubic feet below the five-year average, following net injections of 60 billion cubic feet. 

Stocks in the Producing Region were 3 billion cubic feet above the five-year average of 930 billion cubic feet after a net injection of 20 billion cubic feet.

Nymex gas futures rose to a two-week high of USD3.982 per million British thermal units on Wednesday, as forecasts for warmer weather across key parts of the U.S. boosted near-term demand expectations for the fuel.  

The U.S. National Weather Service's six-to-ten-day outlook released Tuesday called for above-normal readings for much of the country.

The Commodity Weather Group also said hot weather will spread across the northern part of the country from June 23 to June 27.

Demand for natural gas tends to rise in the summer months as warmer-than-normal temperatures increase the need for gas-fired electricity to power air conditioning.

Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in August tumbled 2.85% to trade at USD95.67 a barrel, while heating oil for July delivery lost 2.75% to trade at USD2.890 per gallon.