Fueled by a large decline in production, intense heat and a return to strong exports, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a modest 16 Bcf injection into storage inventories for the week ending July 2.

EIA storage july 2

The figure came in below the lowest of expectations, sending Nymex natural gas futures screaming higher. The August Nymex contract was off early in Thursday’s session, in line with global commodity trends, trading at around $3.62/MMBtu in the minutes leading up to the report. After the print crossed trading desks, the prompt month shot up to around $3.670 and by 11 a.m. ET was at around $3.660, up about 7.0 cents from Wednesday’s close.

Huntsville Utilities’ Donnie Sharp, natural gas supply manager, said despite the rally, the market is still overbought....