US natural gas supplies shrank last week
Government says natural gas reserves declined last week
NEW YORK (AP) -- The nation's natural gas supplies fell last week, the government said Thursday.
The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reported that natural gas in storage shrank by 14 billion cubic feet to 1.673 trillion cubic feet for the week ended April 5.
Analysts expected a decline of 20 billion to 24 billion cubic feet, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
The inventory level was 3.8 percent below the five-year average of 1.739 trillion cubic feet, and 32.5 percent below last year's level of 2.477 trillion cubic feet, according to the government data.
Natural gas futures rose 6 cents to $4.14 per 1,000 cubic feet in New York.
