The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday reported a withdrawal of 18 Bcf from natural gas storage for the week ended Nov. 20, led by a relatively large pull in the East. The result was roughly on par with expectations set by major polls, and Nymex natural gas futures rebounded on the news.

Ahead of the report Wednesday, the December contract was down 3.1 cents at $2.744/MMBtu. However, the prompt month recovered to around $2.756 when the EIA data was released at noon ET. By around 12:25 p.m., the December contract climbed to $2.791 and was up 1.6 cents.

While liquefied natural gas export volumes were strong during the covered week, weather-driven demand was relatively light, keeping the pull below norms for this time of year.

“It was warmer than normal...