NEW YORK (AP) — The nation's natural gas supplies rose last week, the government said Thursday.
The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reported that natural gas in storage grew by 65 billion cubic feet to 3.006 trillion cubic feet for the week ended Aug. 9.
Analysts expected a rise of 68 billion to 72 billion cubic feet, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
The inventory level was 1.5 percent above the five-year average of 2.963 trillion cubic feet, but 7.7 percent below last year's level of 3.258 trillion cubic feet, according to the government data.
Natural gas futures rose 4 cents to $3.39 per 1,000 cubic feet in New York.