The NYMEX May natural gas futures contract continued to rise Thursday after the US Energy Information Administration's storage report showed an above-average draw, yet the data came in below analysts' expectations.
As of 12:28 p.m. EDT (1628 GMT), the contract traded at $4.126/MMBtu, 4.1 cents above Wednesday's close.
For the week that ended Friday, the EIA estimated a withdrawal of 14 Bcf, which was below analysts' expectations of a drawdown between 20 Bcf and 24 Bcf.
Yet, the storage draw during what is normally an injection season was perceived by the market as supportive.
"Despite the relatively neutral storage release, rising concerns over the growing inventory deficit reversed earlier session losses," noted Teri Viswanath, Director at BNP Paribas.
"We are seeing increasing numbers of bullish calls for natural gas prices, now that the inventory data has caught the attention of the masses," said Kilduff Report analyst Mike Fitzpatrick.
The May contract has traded so far Thursday between $4.047/MMBtu and $4.185/MMBtu.
