The recent winter storms in the United States have resulted in a surge in demand for natural gas, leading to a significant withdrawal from inventories. According to a survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal, natural gas in underground storage is expected to decrease by 323 billion cubic feet for the week ending on January 19th, bringing the total down to 2,859 Bcf.
This withdrawal is more than double the amount seen in the previous week (154 Bcf) and surpasses the five-year average of 148 Bcf. The estimates in the survey range from a withdrawal of 310 Bcf to one of 333 Bcf.
The Energy Information Administration will release its weekly storage report on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. EST, providing further insights into the situation.
The severe weather experienced in January, following an unusually mild December, has helped drive up natural gas prices during the first two weeks of the year. However, a sharp decline occurred as temperature forecasts warmed and the anticipated high withdrawals from storage were believed to be already factored into the pricing.
Despite this, prices are on the rebound, with natural gas for February delivery currently up 5.4% at $2.583 per million British thermal units.