After dropping to a 10-week low, natural gas prices rallied slightly after Thursday’s storage report. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an injection of 10 Bcf, during the week ending July 12th. Natural gas storage levels are 8.4% above last year’s level and 16.9% above the five-year average, for the same reporting week. Industry analysts were expecting a build of 27 Bcf and it compares with a 43 Bcf build last year, for the same reporting week. The storage surplus continues to narrow, and traders have noted that the storage builds have been smaller than usual in nine of the past ten weeks, because several producers cut production earlier this year, when prices dropped to three and a half year lows. The July contract settled at $2.628 and the August contract is currently trading near $2.13 per MMBtu. Natural gas prices have been trending lower these past couple of weeks, as the effect of Hurricane Beryl took significant demand offline in Texas, including the shutdown of Freeport LNG. Weather forecasts are showing near normal temperatures for the next week, providing some reprieve to cooling demand and a decline in gas demand. It will be short lived, as hotter temperatures are expected to return at the end of July through at least August 2nd.
