With the market anticipating low injections into storage this week, Henry Hub natural gas futures for October hit a peak of US2.294/MMBtu before the report was released. Once the bearish report came out this morning, the prompt-month price began to cool off and was trading at US$2.273/MMBtu as of 10:45am. Prices have rebounded since hitting a low of US$2.126/MMBtu on August 23rd, representing an increase of US$0.151/MMbtu. The EIA estimated working gas storage was 2,857 Bcf for the week ended August 23rd, 2019 after an injection of 60 Bcf. This boost to inventories is slightly above expectations, with most anticipating a maximum injection of 57 Bcf. Storage levels are now 14.6% above year-ago levels and only 3.4% below the 5-year average.
In Canada, September prompt-month futures for AECO are trading at C$1.07/GJ, while Dawn is trading at C$2.55/GJ. AECO saw week-over-week decreases of $0.08/GJ, whereas Dawn remained flat. Canadian natural gas storage for the week ended August 16th, 2019 was sitting at 483.3 Bcf, after an injection of 14.4 Bcf. Relative to last year, inventories are 8.1% lower.
Grace Wilton, Energy Services Analyst
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