| Series | First | Latest | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower-48 working gas storage | 3117.00 | 3117.00 | 824.00 | 4047.00 |
| Five-year average | 2966.67 | 2941.33 | 1537.73 | 3863.40 |
| Five-year minimum | 2728.50 | 2492.33 | 833.67 | 3834.00 |
| Five-year maximum | 3333.50 | 3261.00 | 2005.00 | 4036.33 |
seasonalReference(t) = same EIA week (±1 week) in the five complete years before t; average/min/max of the per-year valuesWeekly Lower-48 working natural gas in underground storage (EIA series NW2_EPG0_SWO_R48_BCF), plotted against the five-year seasonal average, minimum, and maximum for the same calendar week. The reference uses the same EIA week number (plus or minus one week) in the five full calendar years before each observation. The current year never enters its own baseline. Each reference year contributes the mean of its tolerated observations. The seasonal range lines start once a five-year window exists.
As of 31 July 2026, the latest reading is 3117.00 Billion Cubic Feet. That is down 0.4% over the past year and above its long-run median of 2814.00 Billion Cubic Feet.
Working gas is the buffer between summer injection and winter withdrawal. A reading in the upper band means the market enters winter well supplied. A bearish Henry Hub backdrop, since storage can cover cold snaps without price spikes. A reading near the floor means the winter has less cushion; deep winter draws that leave storage low into late season are the reference for how the market prices that scarcity.
Energy series move with the calendar year. A raw level cannot say if the market is tight or slack. This page ranks each week against the same week in the five full years before it. A July reading is judged against prior Julys, not against the full year. The baseline uses only earlier years. The current year never enters its own baseline. The rule allows one week of tolerance when holidays shift the report week.
For each date, the reference is the same EIA week number (plus or minus one week) in the five full calendar years before it. Each reference year adds one value (the mean of its tolerated observations). The average, minimum, and maximum use those five yearly values. The lines start once a five-year window exists. The window rolls forward as old years leave.
The five-year window moves as history rolls forward, so an extreme from a decade ago no longer anchors the range. Source revisions can move history. Working gas in storage is one input to the market balance. Prices also move on the weekly surprise versus expectations, not on the level alone. Treat the chart as context for supply and demand conditions, not investment advice.
Every Thursday's Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report compares working gas to a five-year average and range. The single most cited number in the gas market. This page uses the same same-week convention with a stricter construction (five complete years, current year excluded, one-week tolerance), so a reading here means the same thing as the report's 'above/below the five-year average' language.
The Weekly Petroleum Status Report uses a five-year average and range. The Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report does the same for gas. This page uses the same idea with a strict same-week rule. It uses five full prior years and allows one week of tolerance. The current year never enters the baseline. Our average can differ slightly from EIA tables when holiday weeks differ.
As of 31 July 2026, the latest reading is 3117.00 Billion Cubic Feet. That is down 0.4% over the past year and above its long-run median of 2814.00 Billion Cubic Feet.
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.
The chart is built from Lower-48 working gas storage, Five-year average, Five-year minimum and Five-year maximum, sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The percentile cell ranks the latest reading against the full sample. The 100th percentile is the highest on record. The 0th is the lowest. The five-year range is relative. Read full-history extremes on the full chart range, not only on the seasonal range.
Both are storage pages, but the products are unrelated: natural gas heats homes and fires power plants, crude oil feeds refineries. Gas storage moves on the injection/withdrawal cycle and weather, crude storage on refinery runs and trade flows. The U.S. energy inventory stress page combines both into one composite. This page isolates the gas-side signal.
A baseline needs five full prior years of observations. The current year never enters its own baseline. The first five years of a series have no complete reference window. Earlier readings plot without a seasonal reference.
One tested idea, through the evidence stack. No migration of any kind.