Demand for American LNG is holding strong, but South Central natural gas storage remains elevated and, according to the latest government inventory data, the surplus of supplies relative to the five-year average continues to swell.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported a withdrawal of 16 Bcf from South Central storage during the week ended Dec. 15. This included an 11 Bcf pull from nonsalt facilities and 5 Bcf draw from salt caverns. Still, it proved seasonally modest and left underground supplies in the region 8% ahead of the five-year average. A week earlier, EIA printed a nonsalt draw of 11 Bcf but a salt injection of 2 Bcf, putting supplies 7% above the South Central five-year average at the time.

Analysts point to record levels of production,...