The Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced on Thursday morning that the Lower 48 states withdrew 37 Bcf of natural gas from storage during the week ended March 29. This was on the low end of market expectations, as only two out of the 11 analysts who submitted estimates to the Bloomberg survey predicted a smaller withdrawal number. While the withdrawal was lower than expectations, it was nevertheless much higher than the 5-year average withdrawal of 8 Bcf.
Featured Articles
- Analyst Insight
Unexpectedly Large Storage Build Drives Gas Futures Downward
The EIA announced a larger than expected storage injection for the week ended 8/16, sending natural gas futures downward.
- Blog
Oops, (Winter's) Out of Time - Natural Gas Buyers Party Like It's 1999
After holding above $2/MMBtu in the first half of January, the CME/NYMEX February natural gas futures contract caved in this week, closing Tuesday and Wednesday at $1.895/MMBtu and $1.905/MMBtu, respectively. The last time we saw prices this low was in March 2016. But to see such levels trading in January, typically one of the coldest and highest-demand months of the year, you’d have to go back more than two decades — to 1999. Today, we explain the fundamentals behind the price collapse earlier this week and its implications for the 2020 gas market.
- Blog
Carry That Weight – U.S. Natural Gas Market Begins Injection Season with Record Storage Overhang
U.S natural gas storage inventories ended the winter heating season at a record high for this time of year of 2,480 Bcf as of April 1, 2016. Yesterday (Thursday April 14) the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that U.S. natural gas storage fell a notch as of April 8 to 2,477 Bcf or 956 Bcf (63%) higher than the corresponding week last year. CME/NYMEX Henry Hub natural gas futures prices for May delivery closed at $1.970/MMBtu yesterday, 56 cents lower than last year at this time. Moreover the current 12-month strip is averaging $2.48, 32 cents lower than last year at this time. In today’s blog, we look at how inventories got here and implications for the summer market.
