Natural gas prices whipsawed as traders attempted to absorb what effects Hurricane Harvey will have on natural gas installations in Houston. The storm is currently a category 1, hurricane, but a storm surge of 6-10 feet is expected with rainfall of potentially 4-feet. This would devastate the area, and could put a bid under natural gas prices. Prices remain rangebound hovering near the 10-day moving average at 2.936. Resistance is seen near the weekly highs at 3.01. Support is seen near last week’s lows at 2.85.
Inventories Rose Less than Expected
The EIA reported that working gas in storage was 3,125 Bcf as of Friday, August 18, 2017. This represents a net increase of 43 Bcf from the previous week, compared to expectations that storage would rise by 45 Bcf. Stocks were 223 Bcf less than last year at this time and 45 Bcf above the five-year average of 3,080 Bcf. At 3,125 Bcf, total working gas is within the five-year historical range.