Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas in storage shrank by 102 billion cubic feet to 3.729 trillion cubic feet for the week ended Dec. 9.Analysts expected a decline of 94 billion to 98 billion cubic feet, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
The inventory level was 10.3 percent above the five-year average of 3.382 trillion cubic feet, and 4.3 percent above last year's level of 3.575 trillion cubic feet, according to the government data.
Natural gas futures rose 5.1 cents to $3.187 per 1,000 cubic feet in New York.
