Investing.com - Natural gas futures moved higher on Monday, rising to a more than one-week high as forecasts for spring storms bolstered the demand outlook for the home heating fuel.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in May traded at $4.487 per million British thermal units during U.S. trading, up 1.08%. The commodity hit session high of $4.527 and a low of $4.446.
Natural gas futures were likely to find support at $4.312 per million Btu, the low from April 3 and resistance at $4.507, the high of March 28.
Weather forecasting models have indicated that several weather systems will move across the U.S. over the coming days. Thunderstorms are expected through the south and central U.S. with snow over the far north, while a cold blast is expected to push deep into the South East on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Last week Nymex natural gas prices slumped 1.02%, or 4.6 cents amid concerns that the arrival of spring will bring warmer temperatures throughout the U.S. and cut into demand for heating.
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.
Natural gas rallied 2.4% on Thursday after weekly supply data showed that natural gas storage in the U.S. fell by 74 billion cubic feet, much higher than the five-year average drop of 8 billion cubic feet for this time of year.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 822 billion cubic feet, the lowest for this time of year since 2003.
Elsewhere on the NYMEX, crude oil futures for delivery in May were almost unchanged at $101.11 a barrel, while heating oil contracts for May delivery dipped 0.08% to $2.9057 per gallon.