US natural gas futures lost 3.7 percent on Thursday after the government reported a slightly smaller-than-expected storage draw. Front-month gas futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed down 10.7 cents at $2.813 per million British thermal units.
The US Energy Information Administration said utilities pulled 45 billion cubic feet of gas from storage during the week ended March 13, a little less than the 48 bcf analysts estimated in a Reuters poll.
That compared with draws of 198 bcf in the previous week, 69 bcf in the same week last year and a five-year average of 45 bcf.
In technical trade on the NYMEX, the 14-day moving average for the gas front-month was close to rising over the 40-day moving average for the first time since December.
Gas for calendar 2017 fell to its lowest on record, according to data back to 2006, on expectations for continued record production from shale plays.
Implied volatility for the gas front-month, a component used to price options, fell to its lowest since November.
Some of the most active gas options were the $2 May, June and July 2015 puts.
Thomson Reuters Analytics said the latest Global Forecast System model for the lower 48 US states showed the weather will remain near-normal over the next two weeks with 263 heating degree days (HDD).
That compares with the forecast 261-HDDs earlier Thursday, 264-HDDs on Wednesday and a 30-year norm of 254-HDDs for this time of year.
Consumption was expected to fall to 72.0 billion cubic feet per day on Friday from 74.4 bcfd on Thursday. The norm for this time of year is 70.4 bcfd.
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