# Natural-gas storage injection pace | PIER20 benchmarks

Is the weekly build into natural-gas storage running ahead of or behind its seasonal norm?

The injection pace is the weekly change in working gas storage. The build during injection season or the draw during winter. Measured against what the same week normally changes. A build running above the five-year average change fills the storage buffer faster than normal; a draw running deeper drains it faster. It is the pace of the storage story, not the level. 

As of **31 July 2026**, the latest readings are Weekly storage change at **33.00 Billion Cubic Feet** and Five-year average change at **28.87 Billion Cubic Feet**. The Weekly storage change line is up 26.00 Billion Cubic Feet over the past year and below its long-run median of 35.00 Billion Cubic Feet.

## Summary statistics (full history)

| Series | First | Latest | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly storage change | -267.00 | 33.00 | -359.00 | 132.00 |
| Five-year average change |  | 28.87 | -209.40 | 101.13 |

## Last 24 readings

| Date | Weekly storage change | Five-year average change |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Feb 2026 | -52.00 | -123.27 |
| 27 Feb 2026 | -131.00 | -84.93 |
| 6 Mar 2026 | -38.00 | -49.20 |
| 13 Mar 2026 | 34.00 | -24.27 |
| 20 Mar 2026 | -54.00 | -12.60 |
| 27 Mar 2026 | 33.00 | 8.80 |
| 3 Apr 2026 | 49.00 | 24.67 |
| 10 Apr 2026 | 60.00 | 48.53 |
| 17 Apr 2026 | 103.00 | 60.20 |
| 24 Apr 2026 | 79.00 | 72.33 |
| 1 May 2026 | 63.00 | 80.73 |
| 8 May 2026 | 85.00 | 90.07 |
| 15 May 2026 | 101.00 | 94.20 |
| 22 May 2026 | 92.00 | 99.67 |
| 29 May 2026 | 95.00 | 91.53 |
| 5 Jun 2026 | 108.00 | 85.80 |
| 12 Jun 2026 | 73.00 | 76.80 |
| 19 Jun 2026 | 76.00 | 67.73 |
| 26 Jun 2026 | 87.00 | 60.40 |
| 3 Jul 2026 | 61.00 | 46.47 |
| 10 Jul 2026 | 41.00 | 38.00 |
| 17 Jul 2026 | 32.00 | 28.27 |
| 24 Jul 2026 | 28.00 | 26.40 |
| 31 Jul 2026 | 33.00 | 28.87 |

## How to read this benchmark

**What a fast or slow pace means.** During the injection season, a weekly build above the five-year average change means the market is refilling the winter buffer faster than normal. Bearish for Henry Hub, because less of the coming winter's demand will have to compete for a fixed pool of gas. During the withdrawal season, a draw above the norm means winter is eating storage faster than history. Bullish. The pace leads the level: a season that starts slow can be reframed weeks before the level confirms it. 

**Why the same-week average change as the comparator.** Storage changes are strongly seasonal. Early-season injections are large, late-season injections small, and winter draws vary with weather. Comparing a weekly change to the same week's average change strips that calendar shape out, so an 'above-normal build' in October and an 'above-normal draw' in January mean the same thing relative to their seasons. 

**How the pace surprise relates to the level.** The pace is the first difference of the storage level: a persistent above-normal pace is what moves the level from one side of the five-year band to the other. The market prices the weekly pace surprise directly. A build above or below consensus moves front-month gas within minutes of Thursday's report. So this page is the same number the market trades, against the same five-year convention. 

**Limitations.** The five-year average change is exactly that. An average. So a single winter's weather can sit far from it without anything being 'wrong'. Weekly storage changes are revised. The pace says nothing about demand composition: a big build from weak industrial demand and a big build from high production read identically here. Treat the chart as context for the storage balance, not investment advice. 

## How this benchmark is used

**The Thursday storage-surprise trade.** The EIA storage report's headline is the weekly change versus market expectations, and the market prices the surprise immediately. This page reproduces the same comparison with a strict five-year baseline, so the pace gap here is the same quantity the consensus estimate is formed against. 

## Frequently asked questions

**What is the current natural-gas storage injection pace?**

As of 31 July 2026, the latest readings are Weekly storage change at 33.00 Billion Cubic Feet and Five-year average change at 28.87 Billion Cubic Feet. The Weekly storage change line is up 26.00 Billion Cubic Feet over the past year and below its long-run median of 35.00 Billion Cubic Feet.

**How often is this benchmark updated?**

This benchmark is built on weekly data. The page is refreshed when the source publishes new observations; the freshness block below the chart shows the exact data-through date and when PIER20 last fetched the file.

**What data sources does this chart use?**

The chart is built from Weekly storage change and Five-year average change, sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

**What does a negative pace gap mean?**

A negative gap means the weekly change came in below the five-year average change: a smaller-than-normal build in injection season, or a deeper-than-normal draw in winter (because winter changes are already negative, and an even more negative change sits below the average). The percentile cell ranks the latest gap against its own history. 

**How is this different from the storage level page?**

The storage level page answers 'how much gas is in the ground versus the seasonal range'. This page answers 'how fast is that number moving relative to its seasonal norm'. The level is the buffer; the pace is the flow filling or draining it. And the pace moves first. 

**When is the data updated?**

Weekly, with the EIA storage report (Thursday 10:30 a.m. ET, data through the prior Friday). The fetch retries the next day if a scheduled release is late. 

## Methodology

- Formula: weeklyChange = storage_t − storage_{t−1}; pace gap = weeklyChange − sameWeekFiveYearAverageChange
- Frequency: Weekly
- Sources: Weekly storage change (storage-change) https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/nw2_epg0_swo_r48_bcfw.htm; Five-year average change (storage-change#seasonalAvg) https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/nw2_epg0_swo_r48_bcfw.htm. Data via the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
- Data through: 31 July 2026
- Last refreshed: 11 Aug 2026

Full interactive chart: https://pier20.com/benchmarks/natural-gas-storage-injection-pace
Disclaimer: research software output, not investment advice.