The NYMEX November natural gas futures contract settled 1.6 cents lower at $3.434/MMBtu Thursday as a trend of below-average injections ended with Thursday's US Energy Information Administration weekly report estimating a 67-Bcf addition to stocks, sources said.
The storage injection reported by EIA was at the higher end of analyst expectations ranging from 63 to 67 Bcf, and slightly higher than the five-year average injection of 65 Bcf.
Such a build to gas stocks "bucked the normally seen trend of declining injections going into winter," Gelber & Associates analyst Aaron Calder said, noting that this week's injection, which will be reported next week, "looks to be even larger than that."
According to sources, expectations of winter weather are now the main factor determining the market.
"With little consensus in terms of winter forecasts, it makes for a somewhat volatile ride near-term," wrote Baird Equity Research director Michael Hall.
The contract traded Thursday between $3.360/MMBtu and $3.480/MMBtu.
