NYME natural gas dropped more than 2%

Thursday, 7 April 2011 09:03

NYME natural gas dropped more than 2% Thursday after the government released reports indicating that U.S. supplies dropped less than initially expected.

The Energy Information Administration reported that natural gas stocks dropped by 45 billion cubic feet last week. Most analysts expected a drop of between 49 to 53 billion cubic feet.

The latest government data indicated that the U.S. consumed a record 2.87 trillion cubic feet in January, with temperatures below average across much of the country. Yet last week's supply of 1.58 trillion cubic feet remains above the five-year average.

The contract for May delivery lost 7 cents at $4.078 per 1,000 cubic feet in midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, natural gas lost as much as 11 cents, or 2.6 percent.