US gas production drop persists, tightening supply and increasing call on storage

摘要

Following a precipitous drop in US natural gas production earlier thismonth, output has continued to stumble in late January, tightening thedomestic market balance just as colder weather arrives. With gas-firedheating demand hitting seasonal highs recently, increased reliance ongas storage could pose renewed upside risk for 2022 forwards prices.After approaching a prior record high at over 96.3 Bcf/d in lateDecember, US gas production has tumbled since the start of the newyear, falling by over 4 Bcf/d to average just 92.2 Bcf/d in January.