Thomson Reuters projected US gas consumption would rise to 78.4 billion cubic feet per day next week from 78.2 bcfd this week as power generators burn more fuel to meet higher cooling demand. The forecast for next week, however, was lower than earlier in the week. The data also projected average US gas production in the lower 48 states would rise to 71.7 bcfd over the past 30 days from 70.6 bcfd during the same period a year earlier.
That was down from 73.7 bcfd at the same time in 2015, when production was at a record high. US exports, meanwhile, were expected to average 8.2 bcfd this week, up 41 percent from a year earlier, the data showed. Analysts said utilities likely added a smaller-than-normal 32 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas into storage during the week ended July 14, leaving inventories about 5 percent above normal for this time of year.
That would be the smallest injection for the week since 2012 and compared with a 38 bcf increase during the same week a year earlier and a five-year average build of 59 bcf. Meteorologists forecast temperatures in August would be near normal after a warmer-than-normal June and July.
Analysts expect utilities to stockpile 1.7 trillion cubic feet during the April-October injection season. Relatively low output so far in 2017, increased sales abroad and higher-than-normal cooling demand this summer are limiting the amount of gas available for storage. That build, which is far below the five-year average of 2.1 tcf, would leave inventories at just 3.8 tcf at the end of October, below the year-earlier record of 4.0 tcf and the five-year average of 3.9 tcf. After two unusually mild winters, traders say the possibility of low inventories and normally cold weather from December through February could cause prices to spike later this year.