US gas glut keep storage levels high

WITH GAS production in the US' shale deposits rising and the recession slow to dissipate, US natural-gas inventories remain high enough to keep downward pressure on prices. Following the traditional seasonal injection-withdrawal cycle, inventories began to rise last spring as Americans turned off their heaters with the onset of mild weather. By mid-summer, stockpiles held in aquifers and depleted reservoirs around the nation were about 18% above the five-year average. In November, the beginning of the traditional heating season, inventories reached a record high of 3.84 trillion cubic feet (cf) (see Figure 1). Three months of wintry weather rapidly rebalanced the supply/demand picture. As c