EIA reports an unexpected weekly rise in in U.S. natural-gas supply

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Thursday that domestic supplies of natural gas edged up by 2 billion cubic feet for the week ended Dec. 1. Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts forecast a decrease of 1 billion, while the five-year average withdrawal is 69 billion. Total stocks now stand at 3.695 trillion cubic feet, down 264 billion cubic feet from a year ago, and 36 billion cubic feet below the five-year average, the government said. January natural gas fell 14.9 cents, or 5.1%, to $2.773 per million British thermal units, down from $2.789 before the data. A settlement around these levels would be the lowest for a front-month contract since late October, according to FactSet data.

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