During the week concluding on May 16th, U.S. utilities augmented their natural gas storage by 120 billion cubic feet, bringing the total to 2.375 trillion cubic feet. This increase follows a 110 billion cubic feet addition from the prior week and surpasses market predictions of a 115 billion cubic feet rise. This trend is part of the typical seasonal storage buildup in preparation for the North American summer. The recent increment marks the most substantial weekly rise since September 2022 and the largest pre-summer addition since 2015. Nevertheless, despite this significant intake, current reserves still trail 12.3% behind the same period last year but stand 3.9% above the five-year average.