Storage build narrows the five-year cushion
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report, issued for data through Friday, October 16, 2026, showed working gas in storage at 3,644 billion cubic feet. That represents a net increase of 77 Bcf from the prior week. Stocks were 152 Bcf lower than the same week in 2025 and 35 Bcf above the five-year average of 3,609 Bcf.
Secondary market summaries published after the October 22 release noted the injection landed near the low end of pre-report consensus ranges and marked another week with builds below the five-year average pace, continuing a stretch that has trimmed the surplus versus the historical band. Henry Hub futures quoted in those summaries moved with the report but are not reproduced here as a price forecast.
Canadian readers often pair the EIA survey with Alberta storage and AECO pricing. This article covers the U.S. Lower 48 inventory survey only.
This is the EIA weekly storage estimate. It is not Canadian storage data, not a pipeline outage notice on TransCanada mainline, and not a liquefied natural gas export cargo count from the Gulf Coast.