Natural Gas skyrockets as U.S. supplies rise less than expected

                  Natural gas futures soared in U.S. trading on Thursday after official U.S. data revealed that stockpiles rose less than expected last week.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in May traded at USD4.390 per million British thermal units, up 4.18%.

The commodity hit a session low of USD4.173 and a high of USD4.418

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ended April 12 rose by 31 billion cubic feet, below expectations for an increase of 34 billion cubic feet.

Inventories increased by 21 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change for the week represented a build of 39 billion cubic feet.

Typically this time of year, stockpiles begin to climb as milder spring temperatures curb demand for natural gas. 

Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 1.704 trillion cubic feet as of last week. Stocks were 794 billion cubic feet less than last year at this time and 74 billion cubic feet below the five-year average of 1.778 trillion cubic feet for this time of year.

In the East Region, stocks were 93 billion cubic feet below the five-year average, following net injections of 19 billion cubic feet. 

Stocks in the Producing Region were 48 billion cubic feet below the five-year average of 751 billion cubic feet after a net injection of 13 billion cubic feet.

Below-normal temperatures in the heavily populated eastern half of the U.S. have hiked up demand for natural gas due to increase demand for heating in the country's homes and offices
About half of U.S. households use gas for heating purposes, according to Energy Department data.

Elsewhere on the NYMEX, light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in June were up 1.31% and trading at USD88.11 a barrel, while heating oil futures for May delivery were up 1.04% at USD2.7630 per gallon.
Courtesy : Investing.com