Natural gas futures - weekly outlook: July 14 - 18

                  U.S. natural gas futures ended Friday’s session close to a six-month low, as concerns over tight supplies continued to fade away.

Natural gas futures ended Thursday’s session down 1.2%, or 5.0 cents, to settle at $4.120.On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas for delivery in August fell to a session low of $4.106 per million British thermal units, the weakest level since January 10, before turning higher to settle at $4.146 by close of trade, up 0.63%, or 2.6 cents.

Futures were likely to find support at $4.106 per million British thermal units, the low from July 3 and resistance at $4.459, the high from July 2.

Nymex natural gas prices lost 5.06%, or 22.1 cents, on the week, the fourth consecutive weekly decline.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report released Thursday that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ended July 4 rose by 93 billion cubic feet, above expectations for an increase of 92 billion cubic feet.

The five-year average change for the week is an increase of 72 billion cubic feet.

Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.022 trillion cubic feet as of last week, 24.4% below their level this time last year and 27.5% below the five-year average.

Meanwhile, updated weather-forecasting models called for cooler temperatures across most parts of the heavily-populated Midwest and Northeast regions over the next five days.

Demand for natural gas tends to fluctuate in the summer based on hot weather and air conditioning use.

Data from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission released Friday showed that hedge funds and money managers significantly decreased their bullish bets in natural gas futures in the week ending July 8.

Net longs totaled 36,906 contracts, down 32.6% from net longs of 54,778 in the previous week.

Elsewhere in the energy complex, crude oil for August delivery settled at $100.83 a barrel by close of trade on Friday, down 2.83%, or $2.94 a barrel, on the week.

Meanwhile, heating oil for August delivery slumped 1.64% on the week to settle at $2.869 per gallon by close of trade Friday. - investing.com