US gas storage stocks drop below 2025 levels after a bullish EIA report in General Energy News 08/06/2026 The US Energy Information Administration reported June 4 a lower-than-expected weekly addition to natural gas storage inventories, reducing the surplus relative to the five-year average and sending stocks below 2025 levels. US natural gas inventories climbed by 95 billion cubic feet in the week ended May 29, the EIA said. The reported injection was 4 Bcf below the consensus estimate of 99 Bcf in the May 26 gas storage survey by Platts, part of S&P Global Energy. It was also bullish compared with the five-year average injection of 101 Bcf and the year-ago addition of 119 Bcf in the corresponding week, according to EIA data. Gas inventories rose to 2.578 trillion cubic feet in the week ended May 29, the data showed. The storage surplus to the five-year average fell to 138 Bcf, or 6%, while stocks flipped to a 3-Bcf deficit to 2025 levels. The delta to year-ago levels has shifted from a 142-Bcf surplus April 17, EIA data showed. Injections were exceptionally high in the 2025 shoulder season, with seven consecutive triple-digit additions from late April to early June. NYMEX Henry Hub prompt-month futures were up in morning trading before the storage print amid a warm weather outlook for mid-June. Despite the bullish storage surprise, the July contract briefly lost momentum in the five minutes after the EIA’s estimate, easing by about 3 cents to $3.31/million British thermal unit, according to data from exchange CME Group. The contract quickly recovered, and was trading at $3.34/MMBtu in the afternoon, up 13 cents from the prior settlement. Fundamentals, outlook The supply-demand balance loosened compared with the prior week, when EIA estimated a 92 Bcf injection. A 200 MMcf/d increase in dry gas production in the week ended May 29 was mostly cancelled out by a decline in net imports from Canada, according to CERA data. Domestic consumption declined by 1.8 Bcf/d,