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US Natural Gas Update: Futures Rise Ahead of Weekly Inventory Report, LNG Feedgas Rebounds

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US natural gas futures were up on Thursday, ahead of the US Energy Information Administration's weekly storage report, which is expected to come in below prior-year figures, but in line with the five-year average for this period.

Both the front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous contract were up 1.66% at $3.054 per million British thermal units.

This comes amid forecasts of a 95 billion cubic feet net injection into storage for the week ended May 15, significantly below the storage build of 120 Bcf during the same period a year ago, and broadly in line with the five-year average for this period.

These forecasts are adding to the bullish momentum, alongside weather forecasts for above-normal temperatures across most of the country from May 28 to June 03, leading to increased gas burning to provide power for air conditioning.

US LNG Feedgas flows are expected to make a strong recovery, at 18.43 Bcf on Thursday, after hitting a 16-week low earlier this week, with several leading LNG facilities under maintenance.

This compares to the 30-day moving average of 18.31 Bcf, according to the Bloomberg LNG Feedgas Model.

Residential and commercial demand is set to increase by 2.4 Bcf per day, further adding to bullish sentiment, according to NRG Energy.

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