The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported a withdrawal of 37 Bcf natural gas from storage for the week ended March 29. The result fell just shy of expectations and, with inventories still plump and injections on the horizon, left Nymex natural gas futures under pressure.

Ahead of the 10:30 a.m. ET government report, the May futures contract was down 1.9 cents at $1.843/MMBtu. The prompt month held at that level when the EIA data was released. By 11 a.m. ET, it was down 4.1 cents to $1.800.

Prior to the report, a Reuters poll found withdrawal estimates ranging from 25 Bcf to 52 Bcf, with a 39 Bcf median. Estimates submitted to Bloomberg spanned a narrower range and produced a median 42 Bcf pull. NGI modeled a 41 Bcf withdrawal.

The five-year average...