US June Gas Futures Close Above $3, Spring Rally Still Climbing

摘要

US June natural gas futures took a significant turn to the upside last week — not so much in the amount of gain but by breaching strong psychological resistance to close above $3 per million Btu for two consecutive sessions heading into the weekend. The contract appeared poised to fall before the US Energy Information Administration reported a 111 billion cubic foot build for the week ended May 8, bringing working gas inventories to 1,897 Bcf. Though the build was massive — the five-year average was 82 Bcf — it was about 5 Bcf under analysts' consensus estimates, spurring speculation that production could be declining.