A cushion in the total
EIA counted 3,184 billion cubic feet of working gas underground in the US on 21 August. Stocks rose by 15 billion cubic feet in a week, leaving them 30 billion cubic feet below a year earlier but 167 billion cubic feet above the five-year average of 3,017 billion cubic feet. The national total remains inside its historical range and offers a measurable cushion before winter.[1]
The increase was not shared across the map. Stocks rose by 19 billion cubic feet in the East and 18 billion cubic feet in the Midwest, while the South Central region withdrew 19 billion cubic feet and the Pacific withdrew 3 billion cubic feet; the Mountain region added 1 billion cubic feet. EIA notes that independently rounded regional figures may not add exactly to the total. The split shows that the week's national comfort rested on injections in the East and Midwest.[1]
The southern move sits in salt storage
The South Central split is sharper. EIA's salt-storage category fell by 20 billion cubic feet in the week to 248 billion cubic feet, while nonsalt storage added 1 billion cubic feet to reach 813 billion cubic feet. The southern withdrawal was therefore concentrated in salt storage. Short-lived weather and demand changes, or ordinary operating decisions, could produce the same pattern; one week does not establish a nationwide supply squeeze.[1]
The next weekly report is due on 3 September. The useful signal is whether the South Central region returns to injections and whether the salt-storage withdrawal continues. If the South resumes filling while the national total stays above the five-year average, this split can be read as a temporary late-summer move. If withdrawals persist, where the national surplus is stored becomes as important as its overall size.[1]