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U.S. Natural Gas in Storage Grows

Thursday July 19, 11:08 am ET
Energy Dept. Report Says U.S. Natural Gas in Storage Grew by 65 Billion Cubic Feet Last Week

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Natural gas in storage in the U.S. grew last week and remains about 11 percent above the five-year average for this time of year, according to a government report Thursday.

The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas inventories held in underground storage in the lower 48 states increased by 65 billion cubic feet to 2.69 trillion cubic feet for the week ending July 13, up from 2.63 trillion cubic feet for the previous week.

The inventory level was well above the five-year average of 2.33 trillion cubic feet in underground storage, but below last year's storage level of 2.76 trillion cubic feet, according to the government data.

In morning trading, natural gas for August delivery rose 17 cents to $6.70 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange.