Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures extended losses on Thursday morning, sinking to the lowest levels of the session after data showed that natural gas supplies in storage in the U.S. rose more than expected last week.
Natural gas for delivery in November on the New York Mercantile Exchange slumped 5.4 cents, or 1.78%, to $2.986 per million British thermal units by 10:33AM ET (14:33GMT). Futures were at around $3.030 prior to the release of the supply data.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. rose by 80 billion cubic feet in the week ended September 30, above expectations for an increase of 70 billion cubic feet.
That compared with a gain of 49 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, 97 billion a year earlier and a five-year average build of 95 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.680 trillion cubic feet, 2% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 5.6% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Gas futures have made a dramatic recovery in recent months, rising nearly 50% since hitting a 20-year low of $1.611 in early March, as an unusually warm summer helped trim a supply surplus that was weighing on prices.