US natural gas storage stocks rose by 78 Bcf to 2.432 Tcf during the week that ended Friday, the US Energy Information Administration said Thursday in its weekly report.
The net injection was below consensus expectations of builds between 80 Bcf and 84 Bcf, but was above the 63-Bcf injection reported a year earlier.
In the same week of 2010, EIA reported 2.675 Tcf in storage. As a result, the 258-Bcf deficit to the year-ago level shrank to 243 Bcf and the 64-Bcf deficit to the five-year average of 2.495 Tcf narrowed to 63 Bcf.
EIA reported a 55-Bcf injection in the East, raising inventories to 1.127 Tcf, compared with 1.287 Tcf a year ago; a 13-Bcf injection in the West to 335 Bcf, compared with 447 Bcf a year ago; and a 10-Bcf injection in the producing region to 970 Bcf, compared with 942 Bcf a year ago.
Inventories now are 124 Bcf below the five-year average of 1.251 Tcf in the East, 44 Bcf below the five-year average of 379 Bcf in the West, and 105 Bcf above the five-year average of 865 Bcf in the producing region.
