# Natural gas slumps 4% after lower-than-expected US inventory drawdown

> Natural gas futures fell about 4% below $3 per MMBtu after an EIA report showed a 206 Bcf storage drawdown for the week ending December 29, smaller than the 221 Bcf analysts expected. Total stocks stood at 3.126 trillion cubic feet, below the year-earlier level and the five-year average.

- Date: 2018-01-04 · published 2018-01-04T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/7022-natural-gas-slumps-4-after-lower-than-expected-us-inventory-drawdown
- Commodities: [Natural Gas](https://feedsoft.ai/c/NATGAS.md)

## Why it matters

A smaller-than-expected draw signals looser supply than the market anticipated, which pressured prices lower. Stocks still sit below the five-year average, so the sell-off may be limited if cold persists.

## Read by commodity

- NATGAS: bearish ▼

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| NATGAS | 2018-01-04 | 1 | -15.5% | -3.8 | A 206 Bcf storage draw, smaller than the 221 Bcf expected, was a bearish surprise that drove the Jan 4 futures selloff. |

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| NATGAS | 2017-09-28 | [Natural gas prices shed over over percent after US inventory buildup](https://feedsoft.ai/events/69140-natural-gas-prices-shed-over-over-percent-after-us-inventory-buildup.md) | -3.6% | -0.9% |
| NATGAS | 2019-11-01 | [NYMEX natural gas inches lower after higher than expected storage build report – The Energy Bulletin Daily](https://feedsoft.ai/events/56251-nymex-natural-gas-inches-lower-after-higher-than-expected-storage-build-report.md) | +4.7% | -11.6% |
| NATGAS | 2017-01-05 | [EIA Reports Smaller-than-expected Fall In U.S. Natural-gas Supplies \| Fox Business](https://feedsoft.ai/events/11915-eia-reports-smaller-than-expected-fall-in-u-s-natural-gas-supplies-fox-business.md) | -2.9% | -5.5% |
| NATGAS | 2022-09-15 | [U.S. natgas drops 9% on rail deal, bigger than expected storage build](https://feedsoft.ai/events/39768-u-s-natgas-drops-9-on-rail-deal-bigger-than-expected-storage-build.md) | -11.5% | -26.8% |
| NATGAS | 2023-03-09 | [EIA expects US natural gas consumption to fall 2.4% in 2023 \| Oil & Gas Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/37036-eia-expects-us-natural-gas-consumption-to-fall-2-4-in-2023-oil-and-gas-journal.md) | -3.2% | -14.4% |

## Sources

- economies.com: https://www.economies.com/commodities/natural-gas-news/natural-gas-slumps-4-after-lower-than-expected-us-inventory-drawdown-21455

---
Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.