US natural gas working stocks rose by just 18 Bcf during the week ended Aug. 12, well below market expectations, but the build was insufficient to keep the momentum going for US gas futures. Storage inventories rose to 2.519 Tcf for the week ended Aug. 12, the US Energy Information Administration reported on Aug. 18. The build was far less than an S&P Global Commodity Insights’ survey of analysts that called for a 34 Bcf build and was outside the survey’s range of 20-52 Bcf. The weekly injection rate was lower than the 46 Bcf build reported during the corresponding week in 2021, and was lower than the five-year average build of 47 Bcf, according to EIA data. As a result, stocks were 367 Bcf, or 12.7%, below the five-year average of 2.886 Tcf, and were 296 Bcf, or 10.5%, lower than year-ago stock levels. Mixed futures reaction The […]