DOE says natural gas supplies slid last week

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 dropped by 66 billion cubic feet to about 3.42 trillion cubic feet for the week ending Nov. 21.

Analysts had expected a drop of between 43 billion and 48 billion cubic feet, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

The inventory level was above the five-year average of about 3.33 trillion cubic feet, and below last year's storage level of about 3.53 trillion cubic feet, according to the government data.

After the report, natural gas for January delivery jumped 27.6 cents, or $6.662 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange.