January Nymex natural gas futures settled the Thursday regular trading session up 12.5 cents at $2.572/MMBtu, gaining ground after the release of a natural gas storage report that showed a larger withdrawal than expected for the week of Dec. 15. 

At A Glance:

  • January futures up 12.5 cents
  • Large 87 Bcf storage draw surprises
  • Cash markets tumble

The front-month contract was trading higher Thursday ahead of the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) storage data release. Gains accelerated following the 10:30 a.m. ET print that showed an  87 Bcf withdrawal. The more actively traded February contract settled at $2.459, up 11.2 cents day/day.

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. tumbled 19.0 cents to $2.355. Prices fell as milder weather is forecast to replace the recent cold...