An unexpected natural gas withdrawal rate as a cold front moved across the East Coast stoked a rally in gas-related exchange traded funds Thursday.
On Thursday, the United States Natural Gas Fund (NYSEArca: UNG) rose 4.0% and the iPath Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex Total Return ETN (NYSEArca: GAZ) gained 5.8% as Nymex natural gas futures increased 4.7% to $2.37 per million British thermal units.
Meanwhile, the three-times leveraged-long VelocityShares 3x Long Natural Gas ETN (NYSEArca: UGAZ) surged 13.2% Monday while the ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas (NYSEArca: BOIL), which takes the two times or 200% daily performance of natural gas, jumped 7.3%.
Natural gas futures rallied Thursday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration revealed natgas inventories diminished by a more-than-expected 117 billion cubic feet in the week ended January 1, reports Nicole Friedman for the Wall Street Journal.
Gas prices plunged into the start of the winter season as moderate weather conditions sapped heating demand and robust production added to the oversupply conditions. Stockpiles typically experience a drawdown in early winter as more consumers utilize natural gas for indoor heating. However, due to the strong El Nino weather phenomenon, mild temperatures helped inventories expand until late November.
Last Week, colder temperatures moved across the U.S., stoking heating demand.