FOX: Natural gas stocks grow less than expected but remain well above last year's level
NEW YORK (AP) — Natural gas stockpile levels rose less than expected last week, but they're still well above last year's levels, the government said Thursday.
The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas inventories held in underground storage in the lower 48 states grew by 63 billion cubic feet to about 3.15 trillion cubic feet for the week ended Aug. 7.
Analysts had expected a build of between 65 billion and 69 billion cubic feet, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
The inventory level was 19.6 percent above the five-year average of about 2.64 trillion cubic feet, and 23.1 percent above last year's storage level of about 2.56 trillion cubic feet, according to government data.
Natural gas added less than a penny at $3.483 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
