By The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is set to release its report on natural-gas inventories for the week ending November 24. Analysts, brokers, and traders surveyed by the Wall Street Journal predict a decline of 13 billion cubic feet. This would mark the second consecutive week of modest drawdowns on supplies, as the recent cold weather across parts of the United States has boosted demand.
All 11 experts surveyed anticipate a draw, with estimates ranging from a 2 billion cubic feet reduction to one as high as 23 billion cubic feet. The EIA will publish the report at 10:30 a.m. EST on Thursday.
Last week, natural-gas inventories decreased by 7 billion cubic feet. As of November 17, inventories in the lower 48 states stood at 3,826 billion cubic feet, which is 7% higher than both the previous year’s level and the five-year average for the same week.
However, natural-gas futures for January have been experiencing downward pressure due to forecasts of a milder-than-normal start to December. On Wednesday, prices were down 0.6% at $2.819 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), continuing the downward trend observed in the previous three sessions.
As the market awaits the release of the EIA report, it remains to be seen whether the expected draw on natural-gas inventories will align with the analysts’ predictions.
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