Natural Gas Futures Rise as Analysts See ‘Strong Setup’ in EIA South Central

With the latest government inventory data showing Lower 48 stockpiles falling further behind historical norms, natural gas futures climbed a couple cents higher in early trading Friday. The June Nymex contract was up 2.3 cents to $2.996/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported an injection of 71 Bcf into U.S. natural gas storage for the week ended May 7. The agency posted an implied flow of 75 Bcf — on par with expectations — but it reclassified the amount of working gas in storage previously by 4 Bcf, resulting in the net 71 Bcf print.

The result compared favorably to the five-year average build of 82 Bcf and the year earlier injection 104 Bcf. It was roughly on par with the median estimates found in polls.

Analysts...