Commodities
Weekly US Natural Gas Prices Advance Despite Bearish Storage Build
US natural gas markets were set to end another week higher, despite the higher-than-expected storage build.In the futures market, the Nymex front-month August contract rose to $3.287 per million British thermal unit, from $3.20/MMBtu on June 19. The July contract settled at $3.231/MMBtu on Friday.Natural gas spot prices fell by $0.10/MMBtu to $3.22/MMBtu during the week ended June 24, from $3.32/MMBtu the prior week, according to the US Energy Information Administration's Weekly Gas Storage Supplement, released Thursday.Prices were mixed across major regional hubs, from a decrease of $1.32/MMBtu at SoCal Border-Ehrenberg to an increase of $0.14/MMBtu at Chicago Citygate.While prices dropped at the Waha Hub in the Permian Basin by $0.16/MMBtu to $1.50/MMBtu, it remained positive for the seventh consecutive trading day, the longest such streak since late January of this year, with Mexican pipeline outlets providing much-needed support.US LNG feedgas flows have similarly recovered strongly after being under pressure over the past few weeks, as several leading facilities underwent spring maintenance.Flows averaged over 19 billion cubic feet per day throughout the week, ahead of the 30-day moving average of 18.21 Bcf per day, according to the Bloomberg LNG Feedgas Model.The net injection into storage for the week ended June 19 was 76 Bcf, ahead of last week's 73 Bcf, bringing total gas inventories to 2,835 Bcf, according to EIA data.The net build was significantly above forecasts, which expected just 67 Bcf in injections, and above the five-year average for this period, at 75 Bcf. It, however, fell short of the 96 Bcf in net injections during the same week last year, according to data compiled by Investing.com.All regions reported a net injection during the week, with the Midwest reporting the largest increase at 34 Bcf, followed by the Eastern and South Central regions at 26 and 13 Bcf, respectively.At 2,835 Bcf, US working gas inventories were 49 Bcf, or 2% below the corresponding period a year ago, while reporting a surplus of 152 Bcf, or 6% compared to the five-year average for this period.According to Pinebrook Energy Advisors, the current storage situation offers a strong cushion, even as "the pace of storage growth continues to consistently lag 2025."The analysts also expect next week's storage figures to "show a sizable injection" before warm weather conditions begin to weigh on storage builds.Weather forecasts call for above-normal temperatures across over two-thirds of the country from July 3 to July 9, according to the National Weather Service, which is expected to increase cooling demand and, in turn, higher gas-fired power generation.A total of 35 LNG carriers departed US ports during the week, down from 36 the previous week, with a combined capacity of 135 Bcf, 2 Bcf higher than a week earlier.Meanwhile, the US gas rig count increased by three from 122 the previous week to 125 in the week ending June 26, according to data from Baker Hughes (BKR) released Friday. That compares with 109 gas rigs in operation a year earlier.The consolidated North American oil and gas rig count, a key early indicator of future production levels, rose by 21 to 770 from 749 the previous week.In international markets, European TTF gas prices averaged $13.82/MMBtu for the week ended June 24, $1.29/MMBtu lower than the previous week. Meanwhile, the Japan-Korea Marker averaged $15.62/MMBtu, about $2.04/MMBtu below the prior week.
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