Natural Gas Sees Little Reaction After Storage Data

On Thursday morning at 10:30 ET, the U.S. Energy Information Administration released its weekly report on natural gas stockpiles. Natural gas stockpiles increased 47 bcf, which was slightly higher than estimates, as analysts' anticipated an inventory build of 45 bcf.The commodity initially moved slightly lower on heavy volume after the data was reported, as inventories increased basically in-line to what was anticipated.From the EIA report, "Working gas in storage was 2,548 Bcf as of Friday, April 20, 2012, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net increase of 47 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 872 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 908 Bcf above the 5-year average of 1,640 Bcf. In the East Region, stocks were 450 Bcf above the 5-year average following net injections of 42 Bcf. Stocks in the Producing Region were 350 Bcf above the 5-year average of 691 Bcf after a net injection of 1 Bcf. Stocks in the West Region were 107 Bcf above the 5-year average after a net addition of 4 Bcf. At 2,548 Bcf, total working gas is above the 5-year historical range."

Natural Gas has been a very volatile commodity over the last number of years. The commodity that helps heat our homes has seen lows of under $2.00 and highs of over $15.00. However, within the last few years, natural gas has not traded above $10.00. The commodity has been in a downtrend ever since 2008.Currently, natural gas futures are trading over 3.2% higher on the session at $2.24. (NYSE: UNG)