February natural gas futures fell for a third session Thursday after a government inventory report landed short of expectations and doubts emerged about colder conditions returning in early February.

At A Glance:

  • EIA prints 154 Bcf withdrawal
  • Spot gains ahead of weekend cold
  • Early February forecasts warmer

The prompt-month Nymex gas futures contract shed 17.3 cents to settle at $2.697/MMBtu. The contract traded as high as $2.960 Wednesday night before trending lower through the day.

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. gained 20.0 cents to $4.140, to halt a two-session slide that came after prices soared to the highest levels of the winter. The Northeast led gains and remained the only region still at double-digit price levels.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) on...