EIA Reports Natural Gas Storage Jumped 58 Bcf

With much of the nation enjoying mild weather, the U.S. grew its natural gas storage levels to 3.445 Tcf during the week ending Sept. 13, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The weekly storage report, released Sept. 19, showed a 58 Bcf increase from the week before, missing consensus market expectations of 53 Bcf, according to East Daley Analytics. While slightly higher expected, the surplus to the five-year average shrunk by 22 Bcf to 274 Bcf.

East Daley predicted that Hurricane Francine, which swept through the Gulf of Mexico during the same week the storage report was released, may have caused demand destruction that will result in a higher storage addition in next week’s EIA report.

The Henry Hub Front Month Futures Price was unaffected by the news. After a drop off in the morning, prices had rallied by noon on Sept. 19, rising to $2.33/MMbtu, a 2% increase from the day before.