Natural gas futures flopped on Thursday after a government inventory report showed underground supplies surged to more than 20% above historical norms.

markets

At A Glance:

  • EIA prints 60 Bcf withdrawal
  • Production near 103 Bcf/d
  • Weather forecasts bullish

Following a nearly 20-cent spike the day before, the March Nymex gas futures contract on Thursday settled at $1.732/MMBtu, down 4.1 cents day/day. It had dipped to an intraday low of $1.661.

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. fell 10.5 cents to $1.530.

Futures had spiked on Wednesday after Chesapeake Energy Corp., among the largest Lower 48 natural gas producers, announced plans for a large year/year output cut. That news provided a boost to a market that, for most of the current winter, has struggled to find momentum amid near-record...