The Platts pre-report analyst survey suggests US EIA data will show a 151-to 155 Bcf withdrawal in natural gas stocks for the latest reporting week
Washington - January 6, 2010
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is expected Thursday to report a net withdrawal of 151 to 155 billion cubic feet (Bcf) from natural gas storage for the week that ended January 1, according to a Platts survey of analysts.
A withdrawal within those expectations would exceed the 60-Bcf drawdown in the comparable week of last year and the five-year-average pull of 78 Bcf, according to EIA. As a result, the 379-Bcf surplus over last year and the 391-Bcf surplus over the five-year-average both should narrow.
Beyond the consensus, analyst expectations for the most recent week ranged from a withdrawal of 130 Bcf to 170 Bcf.
Most analysts believe Thursday’s report will reflect another week of relatively low holiday demand despite unseasonably cold weather, and Gerdes Group analyst John Gerdes said he expects the report to be "uninspiring" to the gas market.
But Gerdes said the next two weekly withdrawals could total nearly 450 Bcf, a hefty drawdown that could slash the year-over-year surplus by about 180 Bcf and underpin prices along the gas futures curve.
For more information on natural gas, visit the Platts website.
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This analyst survey is conducted by Platts’ editorial team in Washington DC and is published every Wednesday morning, one day ahead of the 10:30 am (EST) Thursday release of the weekly natural gas storage report of the US Energy Information Administration. Platts has been conducting this survey since January 2007. IMPORTANT NOTE TO EDITORS: The survey results attached above do not contain commentary from a Platts staff member. The survey is conducted and prepared by the Platts market news editors, but the views are those of non-Platts market analysts. The survey includes 15 to 25 analysts, some on a rotational basis. This differs from the weekly pre-report analyst survey of EIA/API US oil stocks data conducted each week by Platts Senior Oil Analyst Linda Rafield, which does include the views of Platts’ oil analyst Linda Rafield.
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