The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported a natural gas withdrawal from storage of 40 Bcf for the week ended March 1, which was near expectations,  sending natural gas futures prices lower.

Ahead of the 10:30 a.m. ET government report, February Nymex futures were trading 2.3 cents lower day/day at $1.906/MMBtu. After the data was released, the contract briefly spiked higher before reversing below $1.900. By around 11 a.m. ET, it was down 5.5 cents from Wednesday’s regular session close to $1.874.

The print fell short of the five-year average draw of 93 Bcf, as well as the year-ago decline of 72 Bcf. With the seasonally slow decline of inventories to 2,334 Bcf at the end of the period, the surplus of gas in working storage rose to 551 Bcf, or 31%...