RTRS: NYMEX natgas off 3 pct early despite small EIA build
NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Front-month U.S. natural gas
futures lost more ground early Thursday despite a government
report showing a smaller-than-expected weekly inventory build,
as record or near-record high inventories and production
continued to weigh on prices.
At 10:31 a.m. EST (1531 GMT), the front month futures
contract NGc1 slid 10.5 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $3.925 per
million British thermal units before slipping further to
another intraday low of $3.88 at about 10:40 a.m.
Just prior to release of the weekly storage data at 10:30
a.m., the front month was trading in the $3.98 area.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration report showed
total domestic gas inventories climbed last week by 3 billion
cubic feet to 3.843 trillion cubic feet, the second straight
weekly record. [ID:nPRWPI54]
The build was below the Reuters estimate for an 8 bcf gain
and well below the year-ago rise of 21 bcf and the five-year
average increase for that week of 18 bcf.
(Reporting by Joe Silha)
