Natural Gas Storage Report - July 7

[dan_s]

Working gas in storage was 3,179 Bcf as of Friday, July 1, 2016, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net increase of 39 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 538 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 599 Bcf above the five-year average of 2,580 Bcf. At 3,179 Bcf, total working gas is above the five-year historical range.

This is another very bullish report because the 5-year average build for this week is 78 Bcf.

In the last 9 weeks the storage builds have been significantly lower than the 5-year average. Over those 9 weeks, the gap to the 5-year average has been narrowed by 240 Bcf.

Keep in mind that demand for gas is about 10 Bcf per day higher in the U.S. than it was five years ago, so utilities need to keep more gas in storage as "insurance".