The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a net 91-Bcf injection into natural gas inventories in the Lower 48 during the week ended May 18 that was just above consensus and better than the year-ago and five-year average builds.
The injection just beat the 90-Bcf consensus estimate ahead of the report's release but signaled a step down in the rate of storage building, falling below the 106-Bcf build reported for the week to May 11. The injection was above respective year-ago and five-year average injections of 74 Bcf and 89 Bcf.
The injection brought total U.S. working gas supply to 1,629 Bcf, or 804 Bcf below the year-ago level and 499 Bcf below the five-year average storage level of 2,128 Bcf.
June natural gas futures were teetering on the negative side of the ledger, 0.6 cent lower at $2.908/MMBtu, ahead of the data's 10:30 a.m. ET release. The contract turned positive following the release while holding within the pre-release trading range of $2.904/MMBtu to $2.928/MMBtu. At last glance, June futures were 0.5 cent higher at $2.919/MMBtu.
In the East, inventories were up 24 Bcf on the week at 299 Bcf, or 22.7% below the year-ago level. Storage levels in the Midwest were up 21 Bcf at 288 Bcf, or 48.5% below the year-ago level. In the Mountain region, storage levels were up 9 Bcf on the week at 107 Bcf, or 35.2% below the year-ago level, while in the Pacific region, storage levels were up 9 Bcf on the week at 213 Bcf, or 14.5% below the year-ago level. In the South Central region, where storage levels were up 28 Bcf, stocks are at a deficit of 32.7% to a year earlier.
Working gas stocks in the South Central region totaled 722 Bcf, with 226 Bcf in salt cavern facilities and with 496 Bcf in non-salt cavern facilities. Working gas stocks were up 10 Bcf in salt cavern facilities and up 19 Bcf in non-salt cavern facilities since the previous week.
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