Natural Gas End of Day Summary: Henry Hub Surges

US Henry Hub front month has continued its surge as US close approaches and is just below the intraday high of $2.571/MMBtu. Front month has found additional support from a slightly larger than expected draw in US inventories.

• US Natgas FEB 24 up 4.8% at 2.56$/mmbtu
• US Natgas JUL 24 up 2.2% at 2.68$/mmbtu
• The EIA weekly gas inventories for the week ending Dec 22 showed a draw of -87bcf compared to the expectation for a draw of -78bcf according to a Bloomberg survey and the seasonal normal draw of -87bcf.
• The total US inventories remain well above season normal levels at 3,490bcf compared to the average of 3,205bcf.
• Feedgas supplies to US LNG export terminals are down slightly to 14.26bcf/d today according to Bloomberg with feedgas flows to Corpus Christi about 0.7bcf/d below normal.
• Lower 48 natural gas demand is up slightly on the day and back just above normal at 89.9bcf/d according to Bloomberg.
• US natural gas production was yesterday steady at 105.0bcf/d according to Bloomberg compared to an average of 105.6bcf/d over the previous week.
• LNG terminal capacity in China is expanding faster than import growth, requiring more LNG deals according to Wang Danxu at Sinopec Economics and Development Research Institute.
• QatarEnergy has signed a supply agreement with Shell International Eastern Trading Company in Singapore for up to 18m barrels of oil a year for five years starting in January 2024.
• Russian gas exports to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline are set to reach the initial design capacity of 38 bcm in 2025, according to Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, cited by Platts.
• India's LNG imports are expected to rise 7%-8% in 2024 if prices stay pressured according to S&P Global.