The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Thursday that domestic supplies of natural gas rose by 49 billion cubic feet for the week ended Aug. 9. The average forecast of analysts polled by S&P Global Platts had called for an increase of 54 billion cubic feet. Total stocks now stand at 2.738 trillion cubic feet, up 357 billion cubic feet from a year ago, but 111 billion below the five-year average, the government said. September natural gas NGU19, +1.59% traded at $2.224 per million British thermal units, up 8.1 cents, or 3.8%, from Wednesday's settlement. It was trading at $2.177 before the data. (full story)