In an eye-opening indication of the impact Winter Storm Elliott had on the natural gas market, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported a stunning 213 Bcf withdrawal from storage for the week ending Dec. 23.

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The triple-digit draw was near the high end of most major surveys and pumped the brakes on the freefall in Nymex futures that started on Wednesday and continued early in Thursday’s session. 

The February contract, on its first day in the prompt position, was trading just below $4.500/MMBtu in the minutes leading up to the EIA report and then popped up a couple of cents as the print crossed trading desks. By 11 a.m. ET, however, February futures were back at $4.441, off 24.4 cents on the day.

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