The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reported that natural gas in storage grew by 8 billion cubic feet to 2.487 trillion cubic feet for the week ended April 6.Analysts expected a rise 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 58.7 percent above the five-year average of 1.567 trillion cubic feet, and 55.5 percent above last year's level of 1.599 trillion cubic feet, according to the government data.
The EIA report also said it is adjusting its data for certain areas it surveys. As a result, the inventory total for the week ended April 6 is about 10 billion cubic feet lower than it would have been with the data EIA used in the previous week. That puts the total much closer to what analysts expected.
Natural gas rose 1 cent to $2 per 1,000 cubic feet in New York.
