Natural gas reserve increases, stockpiles remain above prior year levels

Natural gas stocks grow more than expected

NEW YORK — Natural gas stockpile levels rose last week above analysts’ expectations, the government said 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 grew by 85 billion cubic feet to about 3.499 trillion cubic feet for the week ended Oct. 1.

Analysts expected a rise of between 74 billion and 78 billion cubic feet, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

The inventory level was 6.7 percent above the five-year average of about 3.279 trillion cubic feet, and 4.1 percent below last year’s storage level of about 3.648 trillion cubic feet, according to the government data.

Natural gas fell by 18 cents to $3.685 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange.