Natural gas futures flipped positive early Thursday after a government inventory report proved bullish relative to recent years. However, it ultimately was not enough to ease festering supply/demand imbalance concerns.

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The April Nymex gas futures contract lost 1.7 cents day/day and settled at $2.154/MMBtu. May fell 2.4 cents to $2.283. A day earlier, both shed more than 17 cents.

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. on Tuesday fell 19.5 cents to $2.105. Cash prices have declined throughout the week.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported a withdrawal of 72 Bcf natural gas from storage for the week ended March 17. Prior to the report, polls showed draw expectations in the 70s Bcf. NGI modeled a 76 Bcf withdrawal.

The East and Midwest regions led...