The NYMEX May natural gas futures contract fell 6.6 cents to settle at $1.970/MMBtu Thursday after the release of weekly gas storage data.
Thursday's settle took the contract back below the $2/MMBtu mark, after it spent the two previous trading sessions above that level.
US gas storage volumes fell 3 Bcf to 2.477 Tcf in the week ended April 8, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
The weekly number came in close to market expectations, but outside the consensus of analysts surveyed by Platts. The consensus was for a change to gas in storage ranging from a 1 Bcf withdrawal to a 3 Bcf injection.
Analysts at Gelber & Associates sparked an optimistic tone in the wake of Thursday's gas storage report.
"The withdrawal gives traders some hope that the mountain of storage can get chopped away," they said in a note.
Analyst Jonathan Wolff at Jeffries in his note Thursday saw the withdrawal as bullish, noting that it was "the first withdrawal during the second week of April since 2007."
But any bullishness may be short lived, as Citi analyst Tim Evans pointed to a shift to warmer weather.
"The net withdrawal of 3 Bcf was somewhat more supportive than the consensus expectation for a 0-3 Bcf build, and also bullish compared with the 22-Bcf five-year average net injection," Evans said.
"However, we expect the market to pivot to the upcoming warming trend that will translate into weak heating demand over the next two weeks. We don't think the storage surprise was bullish enough to tip the balance in the market."
The US National Weather Service's latest eight- to 14-day outlook forecast above-normal temperatures across the entire country, along with chances of above-normal precipitation in much of the Southwest into West Texas and the Upper Plains.
Platts unit Bentek Energy forecast US demand would average 69.5 Bcf/d over the next seven days and 66.9 Bcf/d in the eight- to 14-day period, compared with a month-to-date average of 76.6 Bcf/d.
The NYMEX settlement is considered preliminary and subject to change until a final settlement price is posted at 7 pm EDT (2300 GMT).
