US natural gas stocks tumble 206 Bcf for week ending Jan. 14: EIA

US natural gas inventory fell by more than 200 Bcf during the second week of 2022, much more than the market expected, yet the Henry Hub prompt retreated nearly 20 cents during early trading on Jan. 20.

Storage fields withdrew 206 Bcf for the week ended Jan. 14, according to data released by the US Energy Information Administration on Jan. 20.

It was stronger than the 193 Bcf draw expected by an S&P Global Platts survey of analysts. It was outside the range of respondents as the largest withdrawal expected was 200 Bcf. The drawdown also outpaced five-year average of 167 Bcf and last year's 179 Bcf pull in the corresponding week.

Working gas inventories decreased to 2.810 Tcf. US storage volumes now stand 226 Bcf, or 7.4%, less than the year-ago level of 3.036 Tcf and 33 Bcf, or 1%, more than the five-year average of 2.777 Tcf.

The NYMEX Henry Hub February contract dropped 20 cents to average $3.82/MMBtu in trading following the release of the EIA's storage report.

A forecast by Platts Analytics calls for a draw of 194 Bcf for the week ending Jan. 21 with another 200-plus pull likely for the last full storage week of the month.

Natural gas demand is up sharply day over day as colder weather across the Eastern US was seen driving close to 12 Bcf/d of gains in residential-commercial loads on Jan. 20, according to S&P Global Platts Analytics.

LNG feedgas demand has lurched higher by 1 Bcf/d to match the all-time high of 13.2 Bcf/d it reached on Jan. 16. In total, US demand has risen by close to 19 Bcf/d on the day to an estimated 142.7 Bcf/d as of evening cycle, gas day Jan. 20.

At the same time, domestic supplies have tumbled as production was seen falling nearly 2 Bcf/d on the day, but further market tightness was averted by a quick rise in Canadian imports, which increased 1.7 Bcf/d on the day. Demand is expected to remain elevated in the coming days, with forecasts pointing to a roughly similar balance for gas day Jan. 21.