Natural Gas Futures Gain Ground Early as Latest EIA Print Could Trim Storage Surplus - Natural Gas Intelligence

Natural Gas Futures Gain Ground Early as Latest EIA Print Could Trim Storage Surplus - Natural Gas Intelligence

Natural gas futures nudged higher early Thursday as traders anticipated a potentially lighter-than-average build in the latest government inventory data, though ample stockpiles at this point in the season served to temper bullish sentiment overall.

The August Nymex contract was up 1.7 cents to $2.649/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET.

Market expectations ahead of the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) 10:30 a.m. ET storage report are clustered around an injection in the low 50s Bcf for the period ending July 7, survey results suggest.

A Reuters poll found injection expectations ranging from 42 Bcf to 63 Bcf, with a median of 51 Bcf. The Wall Street Journal’s survey resulted in a narrower span of estimates and an average of 52 Bcf.

NGI modeled a 50 Bcf injection for...