The fact of the matter is: natural gas production is at an all time record high and appears to be going higher.
The front futures are down 17 cents at $3.14.
From Dow Jones 41 minutes after the EIA report:
--Gas futures fall as low demand leads to muted inventory withdrawalWe'll have more this afternoon.
--U.S. gas stockpiles fall 157 bcf; survey had called for 161-bcf drop
--"People are getting nervous" about high supplies, analyst says
By Jerry A. DiColoNEW YORK--Natural-gas futures fell 4% Thursday after a weekly withdrawal from U.S. gas stockpiles came in below forecasts, signaling weak demand.
Natural gas in U.S. storage fell by 157 billion cubic feet in the week ended Feb. 8, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Analysts' average estimates were calling for a 161-bcf drop in the week ended Feb. 8.
Gas inventories have fallen by a smaller amount than analysts expected for the past three weeks, raising concerns that natural-gas demand isn't keeping pace with supplies. The winter is the time of year with the highest fuel usage, and the modest withdrawals have increased expectations of high supplies as the end of the season approaches.
"People are getting nervous about the large amount of gas in storage," said Aaron Calder, an energy-market analyst at Gelber and Associates in Houston.
Natural gas for March delivery was recently 13.1 cents lower at $3.175 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, on pace for the lowest settlement since early January....MORE
Here's the action over the last couple weeks via FinViz:
Recently:
A Winter 8.6% Colder Than Last Year Doesn't Seem to Be Enough to Support Natural Gas Above $3.00
"Trials and Tribulations of Predicting the EIA Natural Gas Storage Number"
Natural Gas at Risk of a Fall Below $3.00
