Gulf Storm Lifts Gas Futures, but 3,024 Bcf Storage Buffer Caps the Rally

U.S. natural gas futures rose July 22 as Tropical Storm Bertha threatened the Gulf's gas-producing corridor. Yet storage sat at 3,024 Bcf as of July 10 (EIA), after a 41 Bcf weekly injection. That cushion limits how long a brief Gulf outage can sustain prices. Traders are pricing storm probability, not confirmed supply loss.