The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported a withdrawal of 71 Bcf natural gas from storage for the week ended Feb. 17. The result was slightly stronger than expectations but weak relative to historical averages, leaving Nymex natural gas futures trading sideways.

Production has held strong and steady around 100 Bcf/d so far this year, while weather-driven demand has been relatively soft amid mild winter weather across large swaths of the Lower 48.

Ahead of the 10:30 a.m. ET report, the March futures contract was up 10.6 cents at $2.404/MMBtu. The prompt month held around $2.402 when the EIA data was released.

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