US natural gas working stocks rose by a larger-than-expected 74 Bcf during the week ended June 17, reducing the deficit to a seasonal low of 13.2%, which helped spur a selloff for US natural gas futures. Storage inventories rose to 2.169 Tcf for the week ended June 17, the US Energy Information Administration reported on June 23. The build was more than an S&P Global Commodity Insights’ survey of analysts calling for a 70 Bcf net injection. The weekly injection was substantially higher than the 49 Bcf build reported during the corresponding week in 2021 but less than the five-year average build of 82 Bcf, according to EIA data. As a result, stocks were 305 Bcf, or 12.3%, less than the year-ago level of 2.474 Tcf and 331 Bcf, or 13.2%, below the five-year average of 2.500 Tcf. While the deficit to the five-year average increased in absolute terms, […]