The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a paltry 21 Bcf withdrawal from natural gas storage inventories for the week ending Dec. 2.

The draw was light compared with historical pulls and came in on the lower end of a wide 52 Bcf-range of expectations ahead of the report. However, futures traders appeared to brush off those bearish stats and instead sent prices higher in the minutes after the report was published.

The January Nymex gas futures contract, already about 18 cents higher at $5.905/MMBtu early Thursday, jumped another 7 cents to $5.976 as the EIA print crossed trading desks. By 11 a.m. ET, the prompt month had started to lose momentum and traded at $5.845, up 12.2 cents from Wednesday’s close.

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