The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a 58 Bcf injection into natural gas storage inventories for the week ending Aug. 7, coming in on the high end of wide-ranging estimates but still sparking a small initial rally in futures prices.

EIA Natural Gas Storage Report

In the minutes leading up to the 10:30 a.m. ET storage report, the September Nymex gas futures contract was trading at $2.175, up 2.3 cents from Wednesday’s close. As the EIA figure crossed trading desks, the prompt month climbed to $2.182.

“It was a very mild week with good wind,” and a 58 Bcf injection is “right on neutral” from a supply/demand perspective given the weather, said one market observer on The Desk’s online energy platform Enelyst.

The analyst noted that last September and October, the gas market saw...