The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported an 87 Bcf withdrawal from natural gas storage for the week ended Dec. 15. The draw was an upside miss against expectations and sent Nymex natural gas futures higher.

January futures traded 3.0 cents higher day/day at around $2.477/MMBtu ahead of the 10:30 a.m. ET report. After the EIA print hit the screen, the contract climbed to $2.497. By 11:00 a.m. ET, the January contract was trading at $2.521, 7.4 cents above the prior day’s close.

Before the storage report was issued, NGI had modeled a 75 Bcf pull. That compares with a five-year average of 107 Bcf and an 82 Bcf withdrawal a year earlier.

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