The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported an injection of 40 Bcf natural gas into storage for the week ended Sept. 6. The result was shy of expectations and historical norms, proving bullish for Nymex natural gas futures.
About 20 minutes ahead of the 10:30 a.m. ET government report, the October futures contract was down 1.2 cents at $2.258/MMBtu. The prompt month rose 4.5 cents to $2.315 when the EIA data was released. By 11 a.m. ET, it was up 5.7 cents to $2.327.
Prior to the report, NGI modeled a 49 Bcf increase. That compared with a five-year average build of 67 Bcf. A Reuters poll found injection estimates ranging from 39 Bcf to 68 Bcf, with a median of 49 Bcf. A Bloomberg survey spanned 37 Bcf to 52 Bcf and also landed at a median of 49 Bcf.
