# U.S. natural-gas storage | PIER20 benchmarks Where does Lower-48 working gas in underground storage sit relative to the five-year range? This page shows Lower-48 working natural gas in underground storage (EIA series NW2_EPG0_SWO_R48_BCF). Each week is compared to the same week in the five full years before that week. The chart shows the five-year average, minimum, and maximum. A reading above the five-year range is high for the season. A reading below is low for the season. Working gas builds through the injection season (roughly April to October) and draws through the winter heating season. This is a seasonal gauge. It is not a price forecast. 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. ## Summary statistics (full history) | Series | First | Latest | Min | Max | |---|---|---|---|---| | Lower-48 working gas storage | 3117.00 | 3117.00 | 824.00 | 4047.00 | | Five-year average | | 2941.33 | 1537.73 | 3863.40 | | Five-year minimum | | 2492.33 | 833.67 | 3834.00 | | Five-year maximum | | 3261.00 | 2005.00 | 4036.33 | ## Last 24 readings | Date | Lower-48 working gas storage | Five-year average | Five-year minimum | Five-year maximum | |---|---|---|---|---| | 20 Feb 2026 | 2007.00 | 1982.87 | 1648.00 | 2392.67 | | 27 Feb 2026 | 1876.00 | 1897.93 | 1534.00 | 2344.33 | | 6 Mar 2026 | 1838.00 | 1848.73 | 1449.33 | 2330.33 | | 13 Mar 2026 | 1872.00 | 1824.47 | 1414.67 | 2317.67 | | 20 Mar 2026 | 1818.00 | 1811.87 | 1395.33 | 2295.67 | | 27 Mar 2026 | 1851.00 | 1820.67 | 1398.00 | 2279.33 | | 3 Apr 2026 | 1900.00 | 1845.33 | 1409.67 | 2291.67 | | 10 Apr 2026 | 1960.00 | 1893.87 | 1445.67 | 2347.00 | | 17 Apr 2026 | 2063.00 | 1954.07 | 1502.33 | 2414.00 | | 24 Apr 2026 | 2142.00 | 2026.40 | 1566.67 | 2492.67 | | 1 May 2026 | 2205.00 | 2107.13 | 1647.33 | 2564.33 | | 8 May 2026 | 2290.00 | 2197.20 | 1731.33 | 2642.67 | | 15 May 2026 | 2391.00 | 2291.40 | 1817.33 | 2721.00 | | 22 May 2026 | 2483.00 | 2391.07 | 1907.67 | 2807.67 | | 29 May 2026 | 2578.00 | 2482.60 | 1999.67 | 2892.67 | | 5 Jun 2026 | 2686.00 | 2568.40 | 2089.00 | 2973.00 | | 12 Jun 2026 | 2759.00 | 2645.20 | 2171.67 | 3040.33 | | 19 Jun 2026 | 2835.00 | 2712.93 | 2243.67 | 3093.67 | | 26 Jun 2026 | 2922.00 | 2773.33 | 2310.33 | 3145.00 | | 3 Jul 2026 | 2983.00 | 2819.80 | 2360.33 | 3180.67 | | 10 Jul 2026 | 3024.00 | 2857.80 | 2395.33 | 3213.00 | | 17 Jul 2026 | 3056.00 | 2886.07 | 2424.67 | 3229.67 | | 24 Jul 2026 | 3084.00 | 2912.47 | 2458.00 | 3250.00 | | 31 Jul 2026 | 3117.00 | 2941.33 | 2492.33 | 3261.00 | ## How to read this benchmark **What a high or low reading means.** 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. **Why the five-year same-week average as the comparator.** 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. **How the seasonal lines are built.** 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. **Limitations.** 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. ## How this benchmark is used **The EIA five-year storage convention.** 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 EIA five-year range convention.** 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. ## Frequently asked questions **What is the current U.S. natural-gas storage?** 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. **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 Lower-48 working gas storage, Five-year average, Five-year minimum and Five-year maximum, sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). **What is the highest and lowest Working gas in storage has reached?** 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. **How is this different from crude oil inventories?** 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. **Why does the five-year range only start five years into the history?** 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. ## Methodology - Formula: seasonalReference(t) = same EIA week (±1 week) in the five complete years before t; average/min/max of the per-year values - Frequency: Weekly - Sources: Lower-48 working gas storage (NW2_EPG0_SWO_R48_BCF) https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/nw2_epg0_swo_r48_bcfw.htm; Five-year average (NW2_EPG0_SWO_R48_BCF#seasonalAvg) https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/nw2_epg0_swo_r48_bcfw.htm; Five-year minimum (NW2_EPG0_SWO_R48_BCF#seasonalLow) https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/nw2_epg0_swo_r48_bcfw.htm; Five-year maximum (NW2_EPG0_SWO_R48_BCF#seasonalHigh) 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/us-natural-gas-storage Disclaimer: research software output, not investment advice.