Natural Gas Extends Gains As U.S. Supplies Climb 69 Billion Cubic Feet

Natural-gas futures on Thursday extended their gains after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that supplies of natural gas rose by 69 billion cubic feet for the week ended June 26. Analysts polled by Platts forecast a climb of 68 billion cubic feet to 72 billion cubic feet. Total stocks now stand at 2,577 trillion cubic feet, up 662 billion cubic feet from a year ago and 29 billion cubic feet above the five-year average, the government said. August natural gas was at $2.859 per million British thermal units, up 7.6 cents, or 2.7%. It was trading at $2.83 before the data.