Platts pre-report analyst survey suggests US EIA data will show an 61-to 65-Bcf addition in natural gas stocks for the latest reporting week

Washington - Jun 30, 2010

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is expected Thursday to report a net injection of 61 to 65 billion cubic feet (Bcf) to natural gas storage for the week that ended June 25, according to a Platts survey of analysts.

An injection within those expectations would be smaller than the 73 Bcf build for the corresponding week of last year and the five-year-average of 82 Bcf, according to EIA. As a result, the 14-Bcf deficit to last year is expected to grow while the 309 Bcf surplus over the five-year average is likely to narrow.

Beyond the consensus, injection estimates for the week that ended June 25 ranges from a low of 50 Bcf to a high of 88 Bcf.

Kent Bayazitoglu, director of market analytics at Gelber & Associates, said weekly storage builds will continue to be relatively small as long as the weather stays hot and gas-fired power generators crank up.

"In normal years the market would have to wait until July to witness the intensity of last week's heat," he said. "A small injection of 50 Bcf or lower could spark a rally back toward $5/MMBtu."

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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 am (EST) Thursday release of the weekly natural gas storage report of the US Energy Information Administration. Platts has been conducting this survey since January 2007. IMPORTANT NOTE TO EDITORS: The survey results attached above do not contain commentary from a Platts staff member. The survey is conducted and prepared by the Platts market news editors, but the views are those of non-Platts market analysts. The survey includes 15 to 25 analysts, some on a rotational basis. This differs from the weekly pre-report analyst survey of EIA/API US oil stocks data conducted each week by Platts editors, which does include the views of Platts’ editors.

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