In yesterday’s update, we reported just one estimate for tomorrow’s EIA storage report for the week ending December 6th to be a withdrawal of -138 Bcf. However, there is actually a wide range of estimates this time around, ranging from the -120’s to -190’s. Earlier this week, the most conservative estimate was a withdrawal of only -40 Bcf.
The market is not in consensus, so there will be some position adjustments after the number is released. Let me remind you that traders are trying to balance their January books this week because they want to go home and relax for the winter holiday. I would expect some volatility into Friday, but then trading ought to slow down.
Otherwise, the January front month contract increased by about 20 cents to $3.36 US/mm as a lake effect snow warning was released for certain areas around the Great Lakes region. For those areas, it will be cold, snowy, but the effect will be brief.
Lastly, the Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate by a half percentage point to 3.25%.