U.S. natural gas inventories likely saw a moderate increase last week as hot summer weather boosts demand for gas to generate electricity for air conditioning.

Net injections into underground storage facilities are seen at 34 billion cubic feet for the week ended July 17, according to the average estimate of 11 analysts, brokers and traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. Estimates range from an injection of 20 Bcf to an injection of 48 Bcf.

The expected inventory build would be smaller than the previous week's 41 Bcf injection, but larger than the 30 Bcf five-year average. It would put natural gas in storage at 3,058 Bcf, or 185 Bcf above the 2021-2025 average for the time of year. The surplus stood at 181 Bcf the week before.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release natural gas inventory data on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. EDT.

Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 22, 2026 12:58 ET (16:58 GMT)

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