Natural gas inventories fell by 66 billion cubic feet to stand at 3,422 billion cubic feet in the week ended Nov. 21, the Energy Deptartment’s Energy Information Administration reported.

According to a survey done by the research firm Platt’s, analysts expected a drop of only 43 to 48 billion cubic feet.

After the report was released, natural gas prices jumped on the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange).