The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported a paltry withdrawal of 98 Bcf from natural gas storage for the week ended Feb. 26. The result fell far short of the midpoint of analysts’ estimates, sending Nymex natural gas futures spiraling lower.

EIA storage feb 26

“It implies super weak supply/demand balances,” Bespoke Weather Services said.

Ahead of the EIA report, the April contract was down 5.1 cents at $2.765/MMBtu, and the prompt month dropped further to around $2.720 when the data was released. By 11 a.m. ET, the April contract had recovered some of the lost ground but remained down 6.7 cents from Wednesday’s close at $2.749.

Ahead of the EIA print, NGI’s model estimated a 135 Bcf withdrawal for the covered week.

A Bloomberg survey found withdrawal...