AIR: Natural gas stocks decline more than expected
NEW YORK (AP) — Natural gas stockpile levels fell more than expected last week, 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 dropped by 245 billion cubic feet to about 2.61 trillion cubic feet for the week ended Jan. 15.
Analysts had expected a draw of between 223 billion and 227 billion cubic feet, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
The inventory level was 0.2 percent below the five-year average of about 2.61 trillion cubic feet, and 0.9 percent above last year's storage level of about 2.59 trillion cubic feet, according to the government data.
Natural gas rose 1.1 cents to $5.507 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
