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On Thursday, November Nymex natural gas (NGX25) prices closed down by -0.064 (-1.92%), hitting a one-week low as EIA reports indicated an unexpected rise in inventories. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a weekly increase of +80 billion cubic feet (bcf) for the week ending October 3, surpassing the expected +77 bcf.
Currently, U.S. natural gas production is near record highs at 107.0 bcf/day, reflecting a +4.4% year-over-year increase. The number of active U.S. natural gas rigs rose by +1 to 118, slightly below the two-year high of 124 rigs recorded on August 1.
Despite the bearish trends from rising inventories, forecasts predicting cooler temperatures in the U.S. may increase heating demand. As of October 3, U.S. natural gas inventories were +4.5% above their five-year seasonal average and output from U.S. electricity rose +2.91% year-over-year in the same period.
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