Natural gas kept rising on Tuesday and traded 2,47% higher at $4,191 per million British units as weather forecasters predicted higher-than-average temperatures in the central parts of the U.S.
When warm weather is expected, natural gas surges as increased electricity demand to power air-conditioning calls for more supply of the fuel, which is used for a quarter of the U.S. electricity generation. Mild temperatures have the opposite effect. Consumption usually declines in autumn before picking from November through March. According to the Energy Information Administration, power generation accounts for 32% of U.S. gas demand and 50% of U.S. households use gas for heating.
Last week the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that the Natural Gas Storage rose by 99 billion cubic feet, which surpassed the expectations of a 95 billion cubic feet increase. Investors are paying close attention to the weekly Natural Gas Storage report scheduled for Thursday.
Early estimates suggest this week injections range between 87 and 100 billion cubic feet, above the 75 billion cubic feet increase the same week last year and near the five-year average gain of 95 billion cubic feet.