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US Natural Gas Update: Futures Prices Stable after Inventory Report

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US natural gas futures were little changed in after-hours trade on Thursday after government data showed a weekly storage build that was broadly in line with market expectations amid plentiful supplies.

The front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous contract were both down 0.34% at $2.915 per million British thermal units.

The US Energy Information Administration said natural gas inventories rose by 32 billion cubic feet in the week ended July 17, within analysts' expectations of a 20 Bcf to 39 Bcf build, according to Aegis Hedging.

Working gas in underground storage totaled 3,056 Bcf, 16 Bcf, or 0.6%, below year-earlier levels but 183 Bcf, or 6.4%, above the five-year average of 2,873 Bcf. The Energy Buyers' Guide noted the surplus to the five-year average was the largest since September, although inventories remained within the historical range.

The latest injection was the smallest of the storage refill season, reflecting stronger cooling demand that reduced the amount of gas available for storage.

US natural gas production was estimated at 109.2 Bcf/d, while net Canadian imports fell 13% to 4.7 Bcf/d, leaving total supply at about 114 Bcf/d, according to Gelber & Associates. Barchart, citing BNEF data, said production fell 0.2 Bcf on the day to 110.7 Bcf/d, but was up 1.5% over the same day last year.

Total daily demand fell by 2.8 Bcf on Thursday to 77.8 Bcf/d, down 1.2% from a year ago, according to BNEF data. A large part of the daily drop came from the power sector, where demand fell nearly 6% to 46.5 Bcf/d. NRG Energy attributed the decline to milder weather across key eastern demand centers.

NRG said mild conditions are expected to persist across much of the eastern US in the near term, while above-normal temperatures should continue across the Plains, Rockies and West through the first week of August.

LNG demand remained firm, with feedgas deliveries estimated at 18.1 Bcf/d despite maintenance at Freeport LNG and the approach of Tropical Storm Bertha. Gelber said Bertha threatens to disrupt operations on the US Gulf Coast, which could move natural gas volumes originally destined for export back into the domestic market. However, after already making landfall in Louisiana earlier on Thursday, it is expected to move inland over Texas late Thursday and dissipate.

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