EIA Reports Weekly Bigger-than-expected Rise In U.S. Natural-gas Supplies

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration Thursday showed that domestic supplies of natural gas rose by 54 billion cubic feet for the week ended April 14. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts expected an increase of between 47 billion and 51 billion cubic feet. Total stocks now stand at 2.115 trillion cubic feet, down 368 billion cubic feet from a year ago, but 282 billion cubic feet above the five-year average, the government said. May natural gas fell 1.7 cents, or 0.5%, from Wednesday's settlement to $3.168 per million British thermal units. It was little changed from its pre-supply data level.