The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Thursday that domestic supplies of natural gas rose by 48 billion cubic feet for the week ended August 17.
Market consensus had called for a rise in the 50 billion to 55 billion cubic foot range, which would have been roughly in line with the five-year average for this time of year, according to Schneider Electric.
Total stocks now stand at 2.435 trillion cubic feet, down 684 billion cubic feet from a year ago, and 599 billion below the five-year average, the government said. September natural gas NGU18, +0.17% was up half a cent, or 0.2%, at $2.961 per million British thermal units, up from $2.943 before the supply data.
