US natural gas futures surged after the EIA reported a smaller-than-expected inventory build, with storage rising just 53bcf versus forecasts of 62bcf. Despite stocks remaining well above the five-year average, the year-on-year shortfall is lending support to prices, ING's commodity experts Ewa Manthey and Warren Patterson note.

EIA data sparks 3.8% rally in gas

"US natural gas futures rallied yesterday, with front-month Henry Hub settling 3.8% higher on the day after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a smaller-than-expected storage increase over the last week."

"The market was expecting an increase of around 62bcf. The EIA reported an increase of 53bcf. Total US natural gas storage stands at a little over 3tcf, up 6.1% from the 5-year average, but still down 5.8% year on year."