Platts pre-report analyst survey suggests US EIA data will show an 31- to 35-Bcf addition in natural gas stocks for the latest reporting week

Washington - July 28, 2010

WASHINGTON, July 28, 2010 - Platts - The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is expected Thursday to report a net injection of 31 to 35 billion cubic feet (Bcf) to natural gas storage for the week that ended July 23, according to a Platts survey of analysts.

An injection within those expectations would be much smaller than the 70-Bcf build in the same week of 2009 and the five-year-average of 50 Bcf, according to EIA. As a result, the 52-Bcf deficit to last year’s level is expected to expand, while the 261-Bcf surplus over the five-year average is likely to shrink.

Beyond the consensus, injection estimates for the week ending July 23 ranged from a low of 27 Bcf to a high of 55 Bcf.

"Temperatures were high across the country last week, making it the hottest week in terms of cooling demand since 2006," said Gelber & Associates analyst Ben Caplan. "Persistent heat forecast in the coming weeks looks to keep injections below those in recent years."

TFS Energy Futures analysts said this week’s storage report could be the most critical one of the summer. "Prompt futures are on the verge of another run towards $5/MMBtu and the storage report holds the key to success or failure," they said.

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This analyst survey is conducted by Platts’ editorial team in Washington, D.C., and is published every Wednesday morning, one day ahead of the 10:30 a.m. (ET) Thursday release of the weekly natural gas storage report of the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Platts has been conducting this survey since January 2007. The survey includes 15 to 25 analysts, some on a rotational basis.

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