Natural gas futures are posting a small gain Thursday after the U.S. government reported a larger-than-expected supply withdrawal. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), domestic natural gas inventories declined by 59 billion cubic feet in the week ending November 26. This is slightly larger than the median estimate of 57 billion cubic feet. Last week, the EIA reported a supply withdrawal of 21 billion cubic feet. In total, U.S. natural gas stockpiles stand at 3.564 trillion cubic feet, down 375 billion cubic feet from the same time a year ago. They are also 86 billion cubic feet below the five-year average of 3.65 trillion cubic feet. January natural gas futures rose $0.013, or 0.31 percent, to $4.271 per million British thermal units (Btu) on the New York Mercantile on Thursday immediately after the report was released. Natural gas is poised for a weekly slide of about 16 percent, …