NEW YORK: US natural gas futures held steady on Thursday as a continued drop in liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports offset a forecast increase in demand next week.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA), meanwhile, said utilities injected 85 billion cubic feet (bcf) into storage during the week ended June 12. That matched analysts' estimate in a Reuters poll and compares with an increase of 111 bcf during the same week last year and a five-year (2015-19) average build of 87 bcf for the period.
The increase boosted stockpiles to 2.892 trillion cubic feet (tcf), 16.9% above the five-year average of 2.473 tcf for this time of year. Front-month gas futures settled unchanged at $1.638 per million British thermal units.
Looking ahead, futures for the balance of 2020 and calendar 2021 were trading about 29% and 62% over the front month, respectively, on hopes the economy and energy demand will snap back as state governments lift coronavirus-linked lockdowns.
Refinitiv said production in the Lower 48 US states averaged just 87.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in June, down from a 16-month low of 88.2 bcfd in May and an all-time monthly high of 95.4 bcfd in November. On a daily basis, however, output was up to a one-month high of 88.3 bcfd this week from a 19-month low of 85.7 bcfd in late May.