EIA Reports 39 Billion-cubic-foot Rise In U.S. Natural-gas Supplies

Natural-gas futures gained more ground Thursday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that supplies of the commodity rose 39 billion cubic feet for the week ended July 1. That was below the average rise of 42 billion cubic feet expected by analysts polled by S&P Global Platts. Total stocks now stand at 3.179 trillion cubic feet, up 538 billion cubic feet from a year ago and 599 billion cubic feet above the five-year average, the government said. August natural gas was up 3.6 cents, or 1.3%, at $2.822 per million British thermal units from Wednesday's settlement. It traded at $2.805 before the data.

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