NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Natural-gas futures extended losses Thursday after government data showed a new buildup in inventories last week that pushed up storage levels to a new record high. U.S. natural gas inventories rose 64 billion cubic feet in the week ended Sept. 25, the Energy Information Administration reported. Analysts had expected a similar increase, according to a Platts survey. At 3,589 Bcf, inventories surpassed their earlier record of 3,545 hit in November, 2007. Stocks were 491 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 481 Bcf above the five-year average. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, November natural gas futures lost 6.4% to $4.533 per million British thermal units. It was down about 5% before the data.
