The Platts pre-report analyst survey suggests US EIA data will show a 11 to 16 Bcf build in natural gas stocks for the latest reporting week Washington, DC - April 8, 2009 The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday is expected to report an addition of between 11 and 16 billion cubic feet (Bcf) to natural gas storage inventories for the week that ended Friday, April 3, according to a Platts survey of analysts. A build within those expectations would contrast with last year's 16-Bcf withdrawal while falling in line with the five-year-average addition of 13 Bcf, according to EIA. As a result, the 402-Bcf year-over-year surplus is likely to expand while the 303-Bcf surplus over the five-year average should hold steady. A build above average or above expectations could push natural gas prices lower because it indicates that the market may be oversupplied with gas. Outside of the consensus range, the broader range of analyst expectations for the latest reporting period spanned from injections of 5 Bcf to 21 Bcf. Schork Group analyst Stephen Schork expects an inventory addition due to last week's weather, which he described as mixed -- cold in the US Midwest but warm in the Northeast. "Thus, the two essentially cancel each other," he said, explaining that with virtually industrial and commercial demand soft, a net storage build is in order. Kent Bayazitoglu, director of market analytics at Gelber & Associates, said the cold winter "has spilled into spring, which will keep injections low for the next few weeks. Large injections will follow when the weather finally warms up."
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday is expected to report an addition of between 11 and 16 billion cubic feet (Bcf) to natural gas storage inventories for the week that ended Friday, April 3, according to a Platts survey of analysts.
A build within those expectations would contrast with last year's 16-Bcf withdrawal while falling in line with the five-year-average addition of 13 Bcf, according to EIA. As a result, the 402-Bcf year-over-year surplus is likely to expand while the 303-Bcf surplus over the five-year average should hold steady.
A build above average or above expectations could push natural gas prices lower because it indicates that the market may be oversupplied with gas.
Outside of the consensus range, the broader range of analyst expectations for the latest reporting period spanned from injections of 5 Bcf to 21 Bcf.
Schork Group analyst Stephen Schork expects an inventory addition due to last week's weather, which he described as mixed -- cold in the US Midwest but warm in the Northeast. "Thus, the two essentially cancel each other," he said, explaining that with virtually industrial and commercial demand soft, a net storage build is in order.
Kent Bayazitoglu, director of market analytics at Gelber & Associates, said the cold winter "has spilled into spring, which will keep injections low for the next few weeks. Large injections will follow when the weather finally warms up."