Natural gas advanced for the third time in four days in New York after an employment report spurred speculation that demand for the power-plant and industrial fuel will recover faster than predicted. Gas rose after an ADP Employer Services report today showed companies in the U.S. cut 491,000 workers from payrolls in April, less than the median estimate of 645,000 in a Bloomberg News survey of 28 economists. A rebound in the economy would help lift gas consumption by factories and power-producers, which together account for 58 percent of U.S. demand. “You can’t dismiss the economic optimism that has grown with the ADP number,” said Phil Flynn, senior trader at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago. “We’re starting to look forward and this isn’t just a U.S. phenomenon because we’re starting to see numbers from around the globe that are better than expected. We’ve looked into the abyss and we’re pulling back from it.” Natural gas for June delivery rose 16 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $3.775 per million British thermal units at 10:28 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have dropped 33 percent this year. Gas has fallen this year as companies including Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. idled plants because of sliding demand. Gas use by factories in the U.S. may drop 7.4 percent this year as the recession cuts consumption, the Energy Department said in a report on April 14. Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protection on April 30 and General Motors may have to follow suit. Flynn said an explosion yesterday on the Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Co. in Indiana also helped lift futures. The 36-inch line can deliver as much as 2.8 billion cubic feet a day into the Midwest and U.S. East Coast markets, according to the company’s Web site.

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