(New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments)
Oct 1 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures were little changed on Thursday as rising output offset a smaller than expected weekly storage and an expected increase in liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said U.S. utilities injected 76 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas into storage in the week ended Sept. 25.
That is a little lower than the 79-bcf build analysts forecast in a Reuters poll and keeps inventories on track to reach a record 4.1 trillion cubic feet by the end of October. NGAS/POLL EIA/GAS
Front-month gas futures NGc1 settled unchanged at $2.527 per million British thermal units.
Data provider Refinitiv said output in the Lower 48 U.S. states rose to a two-week high of 87.9 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) on Tuesday from a four-month low of 84.9 bcfd last week.
For the month, however, output was on track to decline for a second time in a row in September to a four-month low of 87.2 bcfd as storms in the Gulf of Mexico, pipeline maintenance and low prices earlier in the year due to coronavirus demand destruction caused energy firms to shut wells and cut back on new drilling. RIG/U
With cooler weather coming, Refinitiv projected demand, including exports, would rise from 83.5 bcfd this week to 85.8 bcfd next week due to higher heating usage and LNG exports, with both Cameron and Cove Point expected back in a week or so. amount of gas flowing to LNG export plants averaged 5.7 bcfd in September. That was the most in a month since May and was up for a second month in a row for the first time since hitting a record 8.7 bcfd in February as rising global gas prices prompted buyers to reverse some cargo cancellations. ended
Week ended
Year ago Five-year
Sep 25
Sep 18
Sep 25
average
(Forecast)
(Actual)
Sep 25
U.S. natgas storage (bcf):
+79
+66
+109
+78
Refinitiv Heating (HDD), Cooling (CDD) and Total (TDD) Degree Days
Two-Week Total Forecast
Current Day
Prior Day
Prior Year 10-Year
30-Year Norm
Norm
U.S. GFS HDDs
86
78
75
73
102 U.S. GFS CDDs
59
67
99
72
52 U.S. GFS TDDs
145
145
174
145
154
Refinitiv U.S. Weekly GFS Supply and Demand Forecasts
Prior Week
Current Week Next Week This Week
Five-Year
Last Year Average For
Month U.S. Supply (bcfd) U.S. Lower 48 Dry Production
85.6
86.5
87.0
94.4
80.1 U.S. Imports from Canada
5.5
6.0
6.5
7.6
7.6 U.S. LNG Imports
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.2 Total U.S. Supply
91.1
92.5
93.4
102.0
87.9
U.S. Demand (bcfd) U.S. Exports to Canada
2.0
2.2
2.4
2.2
1.9 U.S. Exports to Mexico
6.0
6.0
6.0
5.9
4.5 U.S. LNG Exports
5.7
6.4
7.5
6.3
2.3 U.S. Commercial
5.2
5.3
6.1
5.3
6.7 U.S. Residential
4.7
4.9
6.3
4.9
7.0 U.S. Power Plant
30.9
30.7
29.0
34.3
26.8 U.S. Industrial
21.6
21.8
22.1
21.4
21.0 U.S. Plant Fuel
4.2
4.3
4.3
4.2
4.3 U.S. Pipe Distribution
1.8
1.8
1.9
1.8
1.8 U.S. Vehicle Fuel
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1 Total U.S. Consumption
68.6
69.0
69.9
72.0
67.7 Total U.S. Demand
82.4
83.5
85.8
86.4
76.4
SNL U.S. Natural Gas Next-Day Prices ($ per mmBtu)
Hub
Current Day
Prior Day
Henry Hub NG-W-HH-SNL
1.66
1.74
Transco Z6 New York NG-CG-NY-SNL
0.95
1.18
PG&E Citygate NG-CG-PGE-SNL
3.82
3.87
Dominion South NG-PCN-APP-SNL
0.98
1.16
Chicago Citygate NG-CG-CH-SNL
1.43
1.35
Algonquin Citygate NG-CG-BS-SNL
1.06
1.18
SoCal Citygate NG-SCL-CGT-SNL
4.21
5.33
Waha Hub NG-WAH-WTX-SNL
0.73
1.16
SNL U.S. Power Next-Day Prices ($ per megawatt-hour)
Hub
Current Day
Prior Day
New England EL-PK-NPMS-SNL
19.00
19.75
PJM West EL-PK-PJMW-SNL
19.50
20.50
Ercot North EL-PK-ERTN-SNL
19.25
22.00
Mid C EL-PK-MIDC-SNL
42.64
44.25
Palo Verde EL-PK-PLVD-SNL
70.25
56.88
SP-15 EL-PK-SP15-SNL
102.00
71.25