By Jason Womack Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--Natural gas futures fluctuated ahead of the release of U.S. government data on natural gas storage as traders weighed economic concerns and ample gas supplies against forecasts for hot weather next week. Natural gas for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange recently traded 2.3 cents, or 0.5%, higher at $4.639 a million British thermal units. The contract sank to a low of $4.534/MMBtu in earlier trading. Natural gas prices were being pressured lower by economic data that showed an unexpected rise in unemployment claims. The Labor Department said Thursday the number of U.S. workers filing initial claims for jobless benefits rose by 13,000 to 472,000 in the week ended June 26. Economists had expected that claims would decline by 2,000. "We need positive economic data to get us going," Mike Rose, director of the energy trading desk for the Fort Lauderdale-based brokerage Angus Jackson. Analysts and traders have kept a close eye on economic reports for signs of a recovery that would revive recession-weakened demand for the fuel. However, prices were being bolstered by forecasts, predicting hot weather next week. Meteorologists with the private forecasting firm Commodity Weather Group sees "strong heat" poised to move through the Midwest, East and South from July 6 to July 10. Hot weather can boost demand for natural gas-fired power to cool homes and businesses. Meanwhile, Hurricane Alex made landfall Wednesday night in Northeastern Mexico, alleviating fears of long-term gas supply disruption in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, an energy-rich region representing about 11% of domestic output. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement said Wednesday that 26.33% of oil production and about 14.36% of natural-gas production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut in because of the storm. Alex "is causing minor headaches for operators in the Gulf of Mexico but should not bring about a lasting effect to production," analysts with Barclays Capital wrote in a note to clients on Thursday. Market participants were awaiting the release Thursday of a U.S. government report that is expected to show a smaller-than-average build in natural gas inventories. The U.S. Energy Information Administration is expected to report that 65 billion cubic feet of gas were added to storage during the week ended June 25, according to the average prediction of 21 analysts and traders in a Dow Jones Newswires survey. Natural gas inventories, which can be called upon in case of supply disruptions or demand spikes, have swelled this year as producers unlocked new supplies of the fuel from prolific onshore fields known as shales. Natural gas in U.S. storage for the week ended June 18 stood at 2.624 trillion cubic feet--0.5% lower than the same week last year and 13.3% above the five-year average. -By Jason Womack, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9201; jason.womack@dowjones.com

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