Natgas companies down on smaller-than-expected storage withdrawal

Shares of U.S. natural gas companies fall, tracking natgas futures NGA/

U.S. natgas futures NGc1 down ~3% at $4.32 per million British thermal units (mmBtu); the contract closed at its highest since December 2022 for a second day in a row on Wednesday

Natural gas prices fell from a 26-year high in the prior session on record output and a U.S. federal report showing last week's storage draw was smaller than expected

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said energy firms pulled 80 bln cubic feet (bcf) of gas out of storage during the week ended February 28

That was much smaller than the 92-bcf withdrawal analysts forecast in a Reuters poll, and compares with declines of 56 bcf during the same week last year and a five-year (2020-2024) average draw of 94 bcf for this time of year

NextDecade NEXT.O down 4.8%, EQT Corp EQT.N falls 2.4%, Energy Transfer ET.N down 1.1% and Williams Companies WMB.N falls 1.2%

ETFs - United States Natural Gas Fund UNG.P down ~3% and ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas BOIL.P falls 5.2%