The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported a natural gas withdrawal of 36 Bcf from storage for the week ending Oct 30, exceeding the market’s expectations.

EIA storage Oct 30

It marked the first pull of the season and arrived two weeks early when compared to historical norms. The decrease reflected chilly weather during the covered week and production shut-ins in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of Hurricane Zeta’s arrival last Wednesday.

Nymex natural gas futures climbed higher early in anticipation of the reduction in stocks. However, they reversed course after the EIA report as analysts looked to the potential for injections in November given a warm weather start to the month and expectations for more comfortable temperatures ahead.

Prior to the EIA report, the...