Investing.com - Natural gas futures were little changed near their lowest level in around four weeks on Thursday, after data showed that domestic supplies in storage fell broadly in line with expectations last week.
Front-month U.S. natural gas futures shed 0.2 cents, or around 0.1%, to $2.646 per million British thermal units (btu) by 10:35AM ET (1435GMT). Futures were at $2.657 prior to the release of the supply data.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. fell by 86 billion cubic feet (bcf) in the week ended March 16, just below forecasts for a withdrawal of 87 bcf.
That compared with a decline of 93 bcf in the preceding week, a fall of 150 bcf a year earlier and a five-year average drop of 53 bcf.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 1.446 trillion cubic feet (tcf), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
That figure is 667 bcf, or around 31.5%, lower than levels at this time a year ago, and 329 bcf, or roughly 18.5%, below the five-year average for this time of year.
Natural gas futures fell to their lowest since Feb. 26 on Wednesday, amid speculation the end of the winter heating season will bring warmer temperatures throughout the U.S. and cut into demand for the fuel.
Market experts warned that futures are likely to remain vulnerable in the near-term as the coldest part of the winter has effectively passed.
Spring usually sees 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.