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Natural gas storage draw matches last year, trails 5-year average

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Natural gas storage draw matches last year, trails 5-year average

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a net 57-Bcf withdrawal from natural gas inventories in the Lower 48 during the week ended March 2 that was at par with the corresponding week in 2017 and well below the five-year average.

The market consensus ahead of the report's release called for a 58-Bcf drawdown from stocks, against respective year-ago and five-year average withdrawals of 57 Bcf and 129 Bcf.

The pull brought total U.S. working gas supply to 1,625 Bcf, or 680 Bcf less than last year at this time and 300 Bcf below the five-year average of 1,925 Bcf.

Ahead of the data's 10:30 a.m. ET release, April natural gas futures were 2.3 cents lower at $2.754/MMBtu. Following the release, the contract held within the pre-release trading range of $2.737/MMBtu to $2.793/MMBtu and was last eyed 2.2 cents lower at $2.755/MMBtu.

In the East, inventories were down 23 Bcf on the week at 359 Bcf, or 11.8% below the year-ago level. Storage levels in the Midwest were down 18 Bcf at 380 Bcf, or 34.8% below the year-ago level. In the Mountain region, storage levels were down 5 Bcf on the week at 97 Bcf, or 30.7% below the year-ago level, while in the Pacific region, storage levels were down 12 Bcf at 177 Bcf, or 12.4% below the year-ago level. In the South Central region, where storage levels were up a net 1 Bcf on the week, stocks are at a deficit of 37.1% to a year earlier.

Working gas stocks in the South Central region totaled 612 Bcf, with 189 Bcf in salt cavern facilities and with 423 Bcf in non-salt cavern facilities. Working gas stocks were up 6 Bcf in salt cavern facilities and down 6 Bcf in non-salt cavern facilities since the previous week.

Market prices and included industry data are current as of the time of publication and are subject to change. For more detailed market data, including power, natural gas index prices, as well as forwards and futures, visit our Commodities pages.