UPDATE 2-US natgas prices ease on larger-than-expected storage injection

(Adds latest prices) April 25 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures eased on Thursday after hitting their lowest in a month, pressured by U.S. government data showing a bigger-than-expected storage build last week. Front-month gas futures for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange was down 1.5 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $1.64 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said utilities added a larger-than-expected 92 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas out of storage during the week ended April 19. That exceeded the 82-bcf injection analysts forecast in a Reuters poll, the injection of 77 bcf during the same week last year and a five-year (2019-2023) average increase of 59 bcf for this time of year. The infusion left gas stockpiles about 22% above normal levels for this time of year. "Injection number came in higher than expected and so it's way above the seasonal average and it's reminding people that there's still a glut of natural gas," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group. LSEG forecasts gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, to fall to 91.6 bcfd next week, from 97.4 bcfd this week. "The power burn is incredible, and it seems that the demand for natural gas is stronger because of the low prices and we're still in the process of the supply side catching up with the demand side," Flynn added. Financial company LSEG said gas output in the Lower 48 U.S. states had fallen to an average of 96.8 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in April from 100.8 bcfd in March. That compares with a monthly record of 105.6 bcfd in December 2023. On a daily basis, LNG feedgas was at 11.3 bcfd as the amount of gas flowing to Freeport LNG fell to 0.1 bcfd from 0.5 bcfd on Monday. However, the first tanker set sail from Freeport LNG's Texas export terminal on Tuesday, raising hopes of a resumption of gas processing after an outage earlier this month. "The (natgas) prices have stabilized between $1.60/mmbtu and $2/mmbtu and remain weak for several reasons, including continued warmer than normal weather, which has curbed heating and power demand in March and April, and an extended outage at the Freeport LNG facility, which curbed feedgas demand by +100 Bcf since January," BofA Research said in a note dated Wednesday. U.S. gas production has dropped by around 10% in 2024 as several energy firms, including EQT and Chesapeake Energy , delayed well completions and cut back on other drilling activities after prices fell to 3-1/2-year lows in February and March. EQT is the biggest U.S. gas producer, but Chesapeake is on track to claim that title after its merger with Southwestern Energy . Meanwhile, in Europe gas prices continued an upwards trend for the second session in a row due to outages in Norway, which reduced pipeline gas supply. Week ended Year ago Five-year Week ended Apr 12 Apr 19 average Apr 19 Actual Apr 19 Actual U.S. weekly natgas storage change (bcf): +50 +77 +59 +92 U.S. total natgas in storage (bcf): 2,333 1,986 1,770 2.425 U.S. total storage versus 5-year average 36.4% 37% Global Gas Benchmark Futures ($ per mmBtu) Current Day Prior Day This Month Prior Year Five-Year Last Year Average Average 2023 (2018-2022) Henry Hub 2.20 2.66 3.60 1.66 1.80 Title Transfer Facility (TTF) 13.49 13.04 14.39 9.41 8.82 Japan Korea Marker (JKM) 12.34 14.39 14.31 10.44 10.23 LSEG Heating (HDD), Cooling (CDD) and Total (TDD) Degree Days Two-Week Total Forecast Current Day Prior Day Prior Year 10-Year 30-Year Norm Norm U.S. GFS HDDs 64 71 131 151 153 U.S. GFS CDDs 73 70 31 37 34 U.S. GFS TDDs 137 141 162 188 187 LSEG U.S. Weekly GFS Supply and Demand Forecasts Prior Week Current Next Week This Week Five-Year Week Last Year (2019-2023) Average For Month U.S. Supply (bcfd) U.S. Lower 48 Dry Production 101.3 95.0 97.3 96.8 97.0 U.S. Imports from Canada 7.6 7.8 6.9 7.1 6.8 U.S. LNG Imports 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Total U.S. Supply 108.9 102.8 104.2 103.9 103.8 U.S. Demand (bcfd) U.S. Exports to Canada 1.9 2.4 2.7 2.1 2.1 U.S. Exports to Mexico 6.0 5.4 6.8 6.7 6.5 U.S. LNG Exports 14.4 10.1 10.7 11.6 11.5 U.S. Commercial 7.4 8.4 6.7 7.8 5.8 U.S. Residential 9.6 11.8 8.0 10.1 6.3 U.S. Power Plant 25.6 22.7 28.5 28.8 30.3 U.S. Industrial 21.5 25.9 22.5 23.3 22.2 U.S. Plant Fuel 4.9 5.0 4.8 4.8 4.8 U.S. Pipe Distribution 2.1 2.3 1.9 2.0 1.9 U.S. Vehicle Fuel 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Total U.S. Consumption 71.2 76.2 72.6 76.9 71.5 Total U.S. Demand 93.5 94.1 92.7 97.4 91.6 U.S. weekly power generation percent by fuel - EIA Week ended Week ended Week ended Week ended Week ended Apr 19 Apr 12 Apr 5 Mar 29 Apr 26 Wind 18 16 15 16 15 Solar 7 6 5 5 6 Hydro 7 7 7 8 7 Other 2 1 1 1 1 Petroleum 0 0 0 0 0 Natural Gas 35 37 38 38 37 Coal 13 13 13 13 13 Nuclear 19 20 20 19 20 SNL U.S. Natural Gas Next-Day Prices ($ per mmBtu) Hub Current Day Prior Day Henry Hub 1.60 1.59 Transco Z6 New York 1.53 1.49 PG&E Citygate 2.25 2.34 Eastern Gas (old Dominion South) 1.37 1.44 Chicago Citygate 1.40 1.49 Algonquin Citygate 1.56 1.67 SoCal Citygate 1.75 1.66 Waha Hub 0.34 1.37 AECO 1.04 1.11 SNL U.S. Power Next-Day Prices ($ per megawatt-hour) Hub Current Day Prior Day New England 25.75 27.50 PJM West 27.50 32.50 Ercot North 14.50 34.00 Mid C 38.07 37.50 Palo Verde 1.50 3.25 SP-15 -1.75 -1.50 (Reporting by Daksh Grover in Bengaluru; editing by Barbara Lewis, Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio)