Natural gas trades sideways on forecasts for warmer temps in U.S. plains

Investing.com - Natural gas prices jumped in and out of positive territory on Tuesday as forecasts for hotter temperatures across Texas and the southern Midwest U.S. offset bearish pressures from milder temperatures across parts of the eastern reaches of the country.On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in September traded at USD3.321 per million British thermal units during U.S. afternoon trading, up 0.05%.The September contract settled down 0.84%, at USD3.319 per million British thermal units on Monday.Updated weather forecasting models continued to call for below-normal temperatures staying in place across much of the U.S. Northeast and Midwest over the next six to ten days, dampening summer cooling demand for the fuel.Demand for natural gas tends to wane amid unseasonably cool weather snaps, as homes and businesses throttle back on their air conditioners.Still, forecasts for a warming trend in Texas and in the southern U.S. Plains states allowed prices to gain.Meanwhile, U.S. supply levels also remained in focus. Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.845 trillion cubic feet as of last week, just 1% below the five-year average.Natural gas storage in the U.S. rose by 59 billion cubic feet in the week before last, above expectations for an increase of 56 billion cubic feet.Early injection estimates for this week's storage data range from 60 billion cubic feet to 74 billion cubic feet, compared to a 25 billion cubic feet increase during the same week a year earlier.The five-year average for the week is a build of 42 billion cubic feet.Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in September were down 1.07% and trading at USD105.42 a barrel, while heating oil futures for September delivery were down 0.76% at USD3.0291 per gallon.
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