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Natural Gas Trading at a Four-Month High as Forecasts See Hot Weather on the Way

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Natural gas traded at a four-month high early Thursday ahead of fresh storage data as forecasts see hot weather on the way, boosting cooling demand.

Gas for July delivery was last seen up $0.10 to US$3.31 per million British thermal units, the highest since Feb.6.

The rise comes as long-term forecasts from the National Weather Service expect all states to see hotter than seasonal weather over its eight to 14 day outlook.

"Natural gas markets are finding renewed strength in weather outlooks that have above normal temperatures for most of the contiguous 48 extending over the next several weeks. Those temperatures are expected to add to power sector gas demands and firm up the fundamentals for the remainder of summer. The first test could come tomorrow and into the weekend where the northeast will see the mercury climb through 90 again," Gary Cunningham, Director Market Research at Tradition Energy, wrote.

The Energy Information Administration will release its weekly survey of inventories of the fuel later on Thursday morning, with Celsius Energy expecting the agency to report stocks rose by 102-billion cubic feet, near the five-year average for the week.

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