Analysts and traders expect government data scheduled for release Thursday to show a smaller-than-average decline in natural gas inventories as mild temperatures and increasing U.S. production keep stocks elevated.
| The U.S. Energy Information Administration is expected to report that 87 billion cubic feet of gas were drawn from storage during the week ended Feb. 3, according to the average prediction of 15 analysts and traders in a Dow Jones Newswires survey. |
| The EIA is scheduled to release its storage data Thursday at 10:30 a.m. EST. |
| The survey’s median result was 87 billion cubic feet, with a high estimate of a 105-bcf draw and a low of a 75-bcf draw. The storage decline falls well short of last year’s 206-bcf decrease in storage for the same week and the 191-bcf five-year average draw for that week. |
| If the storage estimate is correct, inventories as of Feb. 3 will total 2.878 trillion cubic feet, about 32% above the five-year average for the same week. |
| Warmer-than-normal temperatures have kept draws below average throughout the winter, and with the coldest period of the year soon ending, analysts see a shrinking opportunity for a large decline in inventories. |
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