U.S. utilities likely pulled 71 billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas from storage last week, less than half as much as usual as mild weather reduced heating demand for the fuel, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.

That compares with a withdrawal of 203 bcf during the same week a year ago and a five-year (2018-2022) average decline of 156 bcf.

In the week ended Jan. 6, utilities added 11 bcf of gas to storage. That was the only storage injection during the month of January on record, according to federal energy data.

The forecast for the week ended Jan. 13 would cut stockpiles to 2.831 trillion cubic feet (tcf), about 0.3% below the same week a year ago and 1.6% above the five-year average.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release its weekly storage report at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT) on Thursday.

There were around 152 heating degree days (HDDs) last week, which is fewer than the 30-year normal of 194 HDDs for the period, according to data provider Refinitiv.

HDDs, which are used to estimate demand to heat homes and businesses, measure the number of degrees a day’s average temperature is below 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius).

Reuters polled 15 analysts, whose estimates ranged from withdrawals of 53 bcf to 81 bcf, with a median decrease of 73 bcf.

Early estimates for the week ending Jan. 20 ranged from withdrawals of 67 bcf to 87 bcf, with an average decrease of 78 bcf.

That compares with a decrease of 217 bcf during the same week last year and a five-year average decline of about 185 bcf.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru; editing by Scott DiSavino and David Gregorio)