U.S. utilities likely added a bigger-than-normal 91 billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas to storage last week as mild weather tamped down air-conditioning demand,a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.

That compares with a 76 bcf injection during the same week a year ago and a five-year (2018-2022) average increase of 86 bcf.

In the week ended June 9, utilities added 84 bcf of gas into storage.

The forecast for the week ended June 16 would lift stockpiles to 2.725 trillion cubic feet (tcf), 26% above the same week a year ago and about 15% above the five-year average.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release its weekly storage report at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT) on Thursday.

There were around 52 cooling degree days (CDDs) last week, less than the 30-year normal of 63 CDDs for the period, data from Refinitiv showed.

CDDs, used to estimate demand to cool homes and businesses, measure the number of degrees a day’s average temperature is above 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

Reuters polled 15 analysts, whose estimates ranged from injections of 102 bcf to 81 bcf, with a median increase of 90 bcf.

Early estimates for the week ending June 23 ranged from injections of 92 bcf to 78 bcf, with an average increase of 84 bcf.

That compares with an increase of 81 bcf during the same week last year and a five-year average of 80 bcf.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; editing by Scott DiSavino and David Gregorio)