Natural Gas Spikes Lower 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 61 bcf, which was higher than estimates, as analysts' anticipated an inventory build of 54 bcf.The commodity initially moved lower on heavy volume after the data was reported, as inventories increased more than what was anticipated.From the EIA report, "Working gas in storage was 2,667 Bcf as of Friday, May 11, 2012, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net increase of 61 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 774 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 773 Bcf above the 5-year average of 1,894 Bcf. In the East Region, stocks were 393 Bcf above the 5-year average following net injections of 47 Bcf. Stocks in the Producing Region were 282 Bcf above the 5-year average of 763 Bcf after a net injection of 7 Bcf. Stocks in the West Region were 98 Bcf above the 5-year average after a net addition of 7 Bcf. At 2,667 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 3.4% lower on the session at $2.51. (NYSE: UNG)