09:30 AM EDT, 03/18/2022 (MT Newswires) -- Benchmark natural gas traded lower early on Friday, dropping off a two-week high that followed a bullish storage report even as long-term forecast cool.
Gas for April delivery was last seen down US$0.06 to US$4.93 per million British thermal units.
The Energy Information Administration on Thursday said US gas inventories fell last week by a more than expected 79-billion cubic feet, leaving inventories 17.4% under the five-year average with just a few weeks remaining in the heating season.
"The colder back half of winter has put inventory levels 17% below the 5-year average versus slightly above average at the start of the calendar year. We think inventories are tracking toward a 1.35-1.40 Tcf bottom, comfortable but again 15+% below the recent history. There remains a fundamentally constructive backdrop driven by record LNG outflows, strong Mexico exports, and producer discipline," RBC Capital Markets said in a note.
Long-term forecasts from the National Weather Service turned cooler, with the agency expecting a cooler than usual end to March for most of the eastern United States.