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MTECHTIPS:-Natural gas futures plunge 4% after bearish U.S. storage data
Natural gas futures plunged to a more than two-week low on Thursday, after data showed U.S. natural gas supplies in storage fell less than expected last week, despite cold weather conditions. Natural gas for delivery in February on the New York Mercantile Exchange slumped 10.6 cents, or 4.68%, to trade at $2.170 per million British thermal units by 15:35GMT, or 10:35AM ET. Prices were at around $2.224 prior to the release of the supply data after falling to a session low of $2.167, the cheapest since December 28. A day earlier, natural gas inched up 1.2 cents, or 0.53%. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. in the week ended January 8 fell by 168 billion cubic feet, below expectations for a decline of 178 billion. That compared with a drawdown of 113 billion cubic feet in the prior week, while the five-year average change for the week is a withdrawal of 178 billion cubic feet. Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.475 trillion cubic feet, 16.9% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 13.7% above the five-year average for this time of year. Meanwhile, updated weather forecasting models for the end of January turned milder. Forecasts originally pointed to freezing temperatures in the U.S. east coast until the end of the month.
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