"Summer is almost over and we're heading into a period of low demand," said Kyle Cooper, consultant at ION Energy in Houston. Refinitiv data indicated 165 cooling degree days (CDDs) in the Lower 48 states over the next two weeks. The normal for this time of year is 163 CDDs, which measure the number of degrees a day's average temperature is above 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius). They are used to estimate demand to cool homes and businesses.
Gas production in the Lower 48 US states slipped to 91.6 bcfd on Thursday from 91.9 bcfd on Wednesday, Refinitiv data showed, but remained near an all-time high of 92.5 bcfd scaled on Monday. Analysts said gas futures had traded near multi-year lows since May because record output and mild spring weather allowed utilities to inject huge amounts of gas into storage.
The amount of gas in inventory has remained below the five-year average since September 2017. It fell as low as 33% below that average in March 2019. But with production expected to keep growing, analysts said, stockpiles should reach a near-normal 3.7 trillion cubic feet (tcf) by the end of the summer injection season on October 31. Refinitiv data projected demand in the Lower 48 would fall to 85.7 bcfd next week from 89.0 bcfd this week.
US energy firms this week cut the most oil rigs in about four months, pushing the rig count to the lowest since January 2018. Drillers cut 16 oil rigs in the week to August 23, the deepest cut since the week of April 26 and the seventh decline in the past eight weeks, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm reported on Friday.