US Natural Gas Inventories Could Help Natural Gas Futures
The EIA reported that US natural gas inventories rose by 65 Bcf (billion cubic feet) to 3,775 Bcf on October 20–27, 2017.
Nov. 6 2017, Updated 2:11 p.m. ET
EIA’s natural gas inventories
The EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) published its Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report on November 2, 2017. It reported that US natural gas inventories rose by 65 Bcf (billion cubic feet) to 3,775 Bcf on October 20–27, 2017. The inventories rose 1.75% week-over-week and fell 4.5% or by 180 Bcf year-over-year.
Wall Street analyst estimated that US natural gas inventories would have risen by 62 Bcf on October 20–27, 2017. NYMEX natural gas (UNG) (BOIL) prices rose on November 2, 2017, despite the rise in natural gas inventories. We covered the bullish catalyst that likely caused the rise in Part 1 of this series.
Changes in natural gas (DGAZ) (FCG) prices impact natural gas producers (XES) (IEZ) like Rex Energy (REXX), Newfield Exploration (NFX), ConocoPhillips (COP), Exco Resources (XCO), and EQT (EQT).
US natural gas inventories
US natural gas inventories’ five-year average injection for this time of year is at 60 Bcf. Inventories rose by 54 Bcf during the same period in 2016. They rose by 64 Bcf for the week ending October 20, 2017.
Impact
US natural gas inventories were 1.1% below the five-year average for the week ending October 27, 2017. They were 21% above the five-year average in March 2017. The inventories have rebalanced towards historical average levels.
The EIA expects natural gas inventories to fall 4.2% below the five-year average in the next three months. It could benefit US natural gas (GASL) (UGAZ) prices.
In the next part, we’ll discuss how US natural gas rigs impact natural gas prices.