New York — The amount of natural gas in US storage facilities increased by 48 Bcf to 2.435 Tcf in the week that ended August 17, the US Energy Information Administration reported Thursday.
The build was smaller than that an S&P Global Platts survey of analysts expected. The analysts' consensus was for a 52 Bcf injection.
The injection was larger than the 45 Bcf build reported during the corresponding week in 2017 and smaller than the five-year average addition of 52 Bcf, according to EIA data. The EIA has not reported an injection larger than the five-year average since late June.
As a result, stocks were 684 Bcf, or 22%, below the year-ago level of 3.119 Tcf and 599 Bcf, or 20%, under the five-year average of 3.034 Tcf. The injection was larger than the 33 Bcf build reported the week prior.
Average population-weighted temperatures dropped 2 degrees Fahrenheit across the Lower 48 states last week, cooling down everywhere except the Mountain region, which warmed up 2 F.
The only other fundamental on a US level to shift significantly was LNG feedgas, which provided an extra 2 Bcf of demand in the South Central region, according to data from S&P Global Platts Analytics.
Summer withdrawals were reported again in the Pacific and South Central regions, drawing them down to 25% and 22%, respectively, below the five-year average.
The current 20% storage deficit to the five-year average refuses to fade away. With only two-and-a-half more months remaining in the typical injection season, Platts Analytics forecasts the deficit will not shrink through the end of August.
The NYMEX September gas futures contract rose 1 cent to $2.966/MMBtu following the 10:30 am EDT storage announcement.
The EIA reported a 21 Bcf injection in the East to raise stocks to 613 Bcf, compared with 724 Bcf a year ago; a 29 Bcf build in the Midwest to lift inventories to 632 Bcf, compared with 818 Bcf a year ago; a 2 Bcf addition in the Mountain region to boost stocks to 153 Bcf, compared with 206 Bcf a year ago; a 1 Bcf withdrawal in the Pacific to drop inventories to 239 Bcf, compared with 295 Bcf a year ago; and a 3 Bcf pull in the South Central region to pull stocks down to 798 Bcf, compared with 1.076 Tcf a year ago.
Total inventories are now 103 Bcf below the five-year average of 716 Bcf in the East, 154 Bcf under the five-year average of 786 Bcf in the Midwest, 33 Bcf less than the five-year average of 186 Bcf in the Mountain region, 82 Bcf below the five-year average of 321 Bcf in the Pacific, and 227 Bcf less than the five-year average of 1.025 Tcf in the South Central region.
