Just noticed nat-gas had a solid Thursday close, up nearly 3% after that inventory report. The EIA said storage dropped 132 bcf for the week ending late February, which beat what people were expecting by about 8 bcf. That kind of surprise draw usually gets traders paying attention.

But here's the thing - warmer weather forecasts across the eastern half of the country are capping any big rally. The Commodity Weather Group flagged above-average temps coming through mid-March, which would kill heating demand. So we're seeing this tug-of-war between bullish inventory news and bearish weather outlook.

Looking at the bigger picture, nat-gas production is sitting near record highs right now. The EIA bumped up their 2026 forecast to almost 110 bcf/day, and drilling activity is picking up too. That's generally bearish pressure on prices. Meanwhile, electricity demand ticked up 7.84% year-over-year last week, which is one of the few bright spots for the natural gas story. Overall, the natural gas inventory situation looks relatively balanced - supplies are only slightly below the 5-year average, so no major shortage signals here.