-- Natural gas futures dipped early Thursday ahead of fresh storage data as spring temperatures continue to limit demand. Gas for June delivery was last seen down $0.04 to US$2.69 per million British thermal units.
The price of the fuel has remained under US$3.00 since the April 1 start to the cooling season as mild spring weather continues to limit demand. Long-term forecasts from the National Weather Service see most states with warmer than seasonal temperatures over its eight to 14 day outlook, but well below midsummer highs.
"Seasonal maintenance is in full swing, depressing demand and adding to an already well-supplied market (stockpiles are 7.7% above the five-year average), but this shoulder season story looks short-lived as we enter summer and new LNG trains come online," Christopher Louney, a natural gas and gold strategist at RBC Capital Markets, wrote.
The Energy Information Administration will release its weekly survey of inventories of the fuel later on Thursday. morning. Celsius Energy is expecting the agency to report stocks rose by 73-billion cubic feet, 4-bcf above the five-year average for the week.