Nat gas lower after below-consensus supply data (by Claudia Assis)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Natural-gas futures turned lower on Thursday after a weekly government supply report showed a smaller-than-expected decline. Natural gas for March delivery (ng12h) lost less than 1 cent, or 0.1%, to $2.45 per million British thermal units. The contract had gained 2 cents before the report. The Energy Information Administration reported a decline of 78 billion cubic feet in supplies in the week ended Feb. 3. That contrasts with expectations of a decline between 84 and 88 bcf, according to a Platts analyst survey, and a five-year average for the week of a decline of 191 bcf.