In the first week of January, colder weather in certain parts of the U.S. has led to an increase in natural gas withdrawals from inventories. According to a survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal, experts predict that natural gas in underground storage will have declined by 117 billion cubic feet, reaching a total of 3,359 Bcf by January 5th. The estimates provided by 10 analysts, brokers, and traders range from a draw of 104 Bcf to 125 Bcf.
Although this projected withdrawal is significantly higher than the previous week’s number, which fell below expectations at 14 Bcf, it is still lower than the five-year average for that week, which stands at 145 Bcf.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its weekly natural gas storage report on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. EST.
Rising Natural Gas Prices
The recent onset of colder weather and the potential for freezing conditions throughout the remainder of the month have contributed to an increase in natural gas prices. On Tuesday, natural gas for February delivery reached a two-month high. However, there has been a slight decline on Wednesday afternoon, with prices down 5.6% at $3.012 per million British thermal units.
It remains to be seen how these trends will continue in the coming weeks.