Natural gas rallies nearly 5% after supply data (by Claudia Assis)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Natural-gas futures turned higher on Thursday after a weekly government report showed a smaller-than-expected increase in supplies. Natural gas for September delivery (ngu12) gained 14 cents, or 4.9%, to $3.07 per million British thermal units. It traded at $2.93 per million Btu before the report. The Energy Information Administration reported an increase of 24 billion cubic feet in natural-gas supplies for the week ended Aug. 3. Analysts polled by Platts had expected an increase between 27 bcf and 31 bcf.