NYMEX May natural gas futures were little changed in overnight US trading as the bullish influence of depleted inventories offset the prospect of a fall on weather-related demand.
At 6:40 am EDT (1040 GMT) the contract was 0.3 cents lower at $2.736/MMBtu.
Natural gas inventories fell in the week ended April 13, for which the US Energy Information Administration reported a 36 Bcf withdrawal compared with the 47 Bcf injection a year earlier and the 38 Bcf five-year average build. Working gas stocks were 1.299 Tcf, or 808 Bcf lower on the year and 449 Bcf below the five-year average.
Lingering cold weather in major heat-consuming regions kept demand supported in the storage review week, but recent and forecast mild to warm weather indicates diminished demand for heating likely to encourage the changeover from weekly storage withdrawals to injections.
