Investing.com - Natural gas futures bounced up in Wednesday trading as investors viewed the commodity as an attractive buy, oversold in a selloff fueled by recent forecasts for mild springtime weather across the U.S.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in May traded at $4.372 per million British thermal units during U.S. trading, up 2.25%. The commodity hit session high of $4.377 and a low of $4.222.
The May contract settled down 2.17% on Tuesday to end at $4.276 per million British thermal units.
Natural gas futures were likely to find support at $4.205 per million British thermal units, the low from Jan. 19, and resistance at $4.567, Friday's high.
Natural gas prices have taken a hit recently on expectations that spring's milder temperatures will cut into demand for heating.
Spring and fall see the weakest demand for natural gas in the U.S, as the absence of extreme temperatures curbs demand for heating and air conditioning.
The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption. Approximately 52% of U.S. households use natural gas for heating, according to the Energy Department.
In Wednesday trading, bottom fishers snapped up nicely priced positions in natural gas on the view the commodity was oversold.
Market players also looked ahead to Thursday’s closely-watched weekly supply data to gauge the strength of demand for the fuel.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 896 billion cubic feet as of last week, the lowest for this time of year since 2003, following a larger than expected withdrawal of 57 billion cubic feet.
Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in May were down 0.45% and trading at $99.29 a barrel, while heating oil for May delivery were down 1.06% and trading at $2.8573 per gallon.