The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported a withdrawal of 50 Bcf of natural gas from underground storage for the week ended Dec. 9. The result was roughly on par with expectations, leaving Nymex natural gas futures in positive territory.

Ahead of the 10:30 ET government report, the January futures contract was up 26.5 cents at $6.695/MMBtu. The prompt month held around $6.660 when the EIA data was released.

By 11 a.m. ET, it had slipped some but was still up 15.0 cents to $6.580.

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Prior to the report, a...