Rakesh Shankar Few Quotations

There are some fears now in the natural-gas market of a return to colder than average weather for the next few weeks.

This report marks a healthy start to the gasoline buildup for the summer driving season. A few more weeks of this kind of healthy build will help further assure the market that gasoline prices this summer will head south.

We are entering spring with near-record levels of inventory. A recent cold spell notwithstanding, few people now care about surprises in this release, seeing as how total inventories are nearly 70% above average.

The recent cold snap seems more like a last hurrah for Old Man Winter, and with barely a few weeks left in the winter season, inventories for natural gas remain in near record territory. This will ensure that any price gains for natural gas in the aftermath of today's report will be limited.

Sturdy product inventories should help to temper market fears of energy shortages, and should help cajole broader energy prices lower in the next few weeks.