On Thursday morning at 10:30, the U.S. Energy Information Administration released its weekly report on natural gas stockpiles.
Natural gas futures spiked over 3% higher to $3.669 as stockpiles decreased by 1 billion cubic feet, which surprised analysts who thought stockpiles would rise 9 billion cubic feet.
From the report, "Working gas in storage was 3,851 Bcf as of Friday, November 25, 2011, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net decline of 1 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 41 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 261 Bcf above the 5-year average of 3,590 Bcf. In the East Region, stocks were 73 Bcf above the 5-year average following net withdrawals of 17 Bcf. Stocks in the Producing Region were 159 Bcf above the 5-year average of 1,102 Bcf after a net injection of 14 Bcf. Stocks in the West Region were 29 Bcf above the 5-year average after a net addition of 2 Bcf. At 3,851 Bcf, total working gas is above the 5-year historical range."
