Natural-gas Futures Turn Lower As U.S. Supplies Fall 25 Billion Cubic Feet

Natural-gas futures turned lower on Thursday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that supplies of the commodity fell by 25 billion cubic feet for the week ended March 25. Analysts polled by Platts forecast a decline of between 20 billion and 24 billion cubic feet. Some analysts, however, have said that the supply fall is likely to be the last one of the season. Total stocks now stand at 2.468 trillion cubic feet, up 1.002 trillion cubic feet from a year ago and 843 billion cubic feet above the five-year average, the government said. May natural gas was down 1.9 cents, or 1%, at $1.977 per million British thermal units. Prices traded $2.013 before the supply data.