US natural gas inventories decline more than expected

US natural gas inventories declined more than expected during the week ending Jan. 23, but were higher compared to their five-year average of 2.680 trillion cubic feet (bcf), according to data released Thursday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

What does this mean? That natural gas inventories saw massive withdrawals during the past week as temperatures fell and snowfall increased, leading to higher demand for heating.