Natural gas futures advanced the most in 10 weeks in New York after a government report showed U.S. stockpiles rose less than analysts expected as reduced drilling by producers may be starting to cut supplies. Inventories gained 106 billion cubic feet in the week ended May 22 to 2.213 trillion cubic feet, the Energy Department said. Analysts expected an increase of 111 billion. The department revised the previous week’s total, cutting it by 9 billion cubic feet to 2.107 trillion. “You’re seeing the cut in production in this week’s number and you can see it in the revisions,” said Michael Rose, a director of trading at Angus Jackson Inc., a brokerage in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “We’re beginning to see a turn in the economy. Some industries are coming back online and production is falling.” Natural gas for July delivery rose 28 cents, or 7.7 percent, to $3.918 per million British thermal units at 11:46 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gas was trading at $3.596 per million Btu before the report was released at 10:30 a.m. in Washington. The contract rose as much as 8.7 percent, the biggest one-day gain since March 19. Gas has declined 30 percent this year. Inventories were 22 percent higher than the five-year average, unchanged from last week’s report. The average change over the past five years is an increase of 91 billion cubic feet, according to department data. Reduced exploration in the U.S. will cut natural-gas production this year by 1 percent, the Energy Department said in a report on May 12. U.S. Production Gas output will be down 6.5 percent compared with the same period a year earlier, the Energy Department forecast in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook. About 56 percent of U.S. gas rigs have been shut since September, according to Baker Hughes Inc. In addition to the revision to the May 15 inventories, the department cut the totals for the previous two weeks. Stockpiles for the week ended May 1 were reduced to 1.911 trillion cubic feet from 1.918 trillion. Stored supplies for the week ended May 8 were lowered to 2.005 trillion from a previously reported 2.013 trillion. The changes were made because of “resubmissions of data from one or more respondents,” the department said on its Web site. Other government data signaled today that the economy may be heading toward a recovery. Orders for U.S. durable goods in April jumped more than forecast on a rebound in auto demand and a surge in defense spending. The 1.9 percent increase reported by the Commerce Department today in Washington was the largest since December 2007, which is when economists say the economic slowdown began.

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