By Victor Reklaitis
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - U.S. natural-gas supplies rose significantly more than expected for the week ended Aug. 2, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration issued Thursday. Supplies grew by 96 billion cubic feet, while analysts surveyed by Platts had expected a net addition between 74 billion cubic feet and 78 billion cubic feet. Platts had noted the number would be much-higher-than average amid mild weather across much of the U.S. that reduced natural-gas demand for power generation. Natural gas for September delivery NGU13 +0.68% was down 4 cents, or 1.3%, to $3.20 per million British thermal units. The contract had traded around $3.24 before the EIA data.
