Natural gas futures struggled for direction on Thursday after a larger-than-expected build in US inventories. The broader energy commodities tanked toward the end of the trading week, even after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced production cuts. Traders have largely baked post-Thanksgiving winter weather into the cake.

January natural gas futures were flat at $2.80 per million British thermal units (Btu) at 14:39 GMT on Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas prices are on track for a weekly loss of 8%, adding to their year-to-date decline of 31.4%.

According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), domestic inventories of natural gas rose ten billion cubic feet for the week ending Nov. 24, up from the previous week’s drawdown of seven billion cubic feet. This was also better than the consensus estimate of -12 billion cubic feet.

In total, US supplies of natural gas stand at 3.836 trillion cubic feet, up 341 billion cubic feet compared to the same time a year ago. They are also 303 billion cubic feet above the five-year average.

Global energy markets kept their eyes on the Nov. 30 OPEC meeting. Officials decided to cut crude oil production by more than one million barrels per day. While this would be typically bullish for oil prices, market analysts say that Saudi Arabia griping that smaller countries need to hold their promise to keep cuts intact.

For the most part, Riyadh has shouldered the burden of trimming output volumes.

Meanwhile, the US is witnessing winter weather, with more than 14 million Americans experiencing freezing temperatures and snowfall. However, recent weather models suggest that the US could witness a milder winter season in many parts of the United States.

In other energy commodities, January West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures plunged $1.73, or 2.22%, to $76.13 per barrel. February Brent crude futures declined $1.89, or 2.28%, to $80.99 a barrel. January gasoline futures dropped $0.0726, or 3.23%, to $2.1747 per gallon. January heating oil futures shed $0.0499, or 1.78%, to $2.7588 per gallon.