The natural gas market is looking rather tight, even as U.S. production continues to set new records. Inventories fell sharply last winter, leaving the country a little light on stocks heading into injection season. That did not concern the market much, with record-setting production expected to replenish depleted inventories. However, the past six months has not led to surging stockpiles, and inventories replenished at a much slower rate than expected. We are about to enter the winter heating season with inventories at their lowest level in 15 years. For the week ending on October 19, the U.S. held 3,095 billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas in storage, or 606 bcf lower than at this point last year, and 624 bcf below the five-year average. (Click to enlarge) The reason for this is multifaceted, with seasonal weather playing a role, but also structural increases in demand. “Hot summer weather, […]