U.S. natural gas storage sees higher-than-expected injection second week in row

Investing.com -- US natural gas storage for the week ended April 21 rose by 79 billion bcf, or billion cubic feet, the Energy Information Administration, or EIA, reported on Thursday, surpassing inventory expectations for a second straight week as heating demand disappointed.

Industry analysts tracked by Investing.com had projected an injection of 75 bcf for last week after all the burning done for power generation as well as for heating.

The latest weekly injection bumped up total gas inventories to 2.009 trillion cubic feet or tcf, EIA records showed. At current levels, the gas storage stands at 35% above the year-ago level of 1.484 tcf and 22% higher than the five-year average of 1.644 tcf.

“This puts the market in a great position for filling storage to the necessary levels for the winter and should injections continue to be on the heavier side an end-of-season level of 3.8-3.9 Tcf is more than possible,” Houston-based energy markets advisor Gelber&Associates said in a note.

There were around 62 heating degree days, or HDDs, last week compared with a 30-year normal of 68 HDDs for the period, data-associated weather data provider Refinitiv said in a forecast.

HDDs measure the number of degrees a day's average temperature is below 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius) to estimate demand to heat homes and businesses.