US natural gas stocks rise 77 Bcf to 3,644 Bcf; storage is 4.0% below last year

US natural gas inventories rose by 77 billion cubic feet in the week ended October 16 to 3,644 Bcf, leaving stocks 4.0% below last year's level, according to the Energy Information Administration's weekly storage report released October 22.

What happened

The EIA estimated working gas in underground storage in the Lower 48 states at 3,644 Bcf as of Friday, October 16, a net increase of 77 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 152 Bcf less than at the same time last year and 35 Bcf above the five-year average of 3,609 Bcf. The agency said total working gas "is within the five-year historical range."

By region, the East held 900 Bcf (up 16), the Midwest 1,065 Bcf (up 28), the Mountain region 257 Bcf (up 2), the Pacific 297 Bcf (up 3) and the South Central region 1,125 Bcf (up 28). South Central stocks were 10.0% below last year and 3.4% below the five-year average; salt-dome facilities in that region were 21.1% below last year.

Prices

Henry Hub spot natural gas was $3.10 per million Btu on October 20, down from $3.28 on October 19, according to EIA data on FRED. A year earlier, on October 16, 2025, the price was $2.82. The 2026 high was $30.72 on January 23 and the low was $2.54 on April 24.

What to watch

The EIA's next storage report is due October 29.