US natural gas futures rose more than 4% to above $3.20 per MMBtu, approaching levels last seen in February, after government data revealed a smaller-than-expected storage build. The EIA reported that utilities injected 92 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas into storage in the week ended May 22, below market expectations of a 95–96 bcf increase and down from a 104 bcf build in the same week a year earlier. Total inventories climbed to 2.483 trillion cubic feet, about 0.9% higher than a year ago and 6.2% above the five-year seasonal average. The surplus over the five-year average narrowed to 144 bcf from 149 bcf the previous week. In supply dynamics, US gas production in the Lower 48 states slipped to 109.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in May from 109.8 bcfd in April, while flows to major LNG export facilities also declined due to seasonal maintenance. Weather forecasts indicate mostly normal conditions through mid-June.