EIA: Natural gas in storage drops, remains above average levels

The price of natural gas futures dropped in New York trade Thursday after the US Energy Information Administration issued new data showing that while US stockpiles fell last week, they remained above the five-year average.

The EIA said that natural gas inventories dropped by 86 billion cubic feet to 2.52 trillion cubic feet last week, 1 percent below last years levels but still 5.5 percent above the average for the past five years.

The report sent March natural gas futures 7 cents lower to $5.15 per million British thermal units in afternoon trade in New York.

March contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were up slightly about half an hour before the close of floor trade, adding 15 cents to trade at $73.82 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while at last report March Brent crude was up 30 cents to $72.54 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex February gasoline futures were 2 cents lower to $1.92 per gallon in afternoon trade, while March heating oil had dropped a cent to $1.91 per gallon.

Meanwhile, the retail price of a gallon of gas in the United States fell overnight, for the fifteenth day in a row, so that US motorists are now paying $2.69 per gallon on average across the nation.