New York Natural Gas Plunges After Unexpected Gain in Supplies

Natural-gas in New York fell below $10 per million British thermal units for the first time since hurricanes devastated Gulf of Mexico production as mild weather caused an unexpected rise in inventories.

Supplies held in underground storage rose by 1 billion cubic feet last week, the Energy Department said. It was the first time inventories increased in late December since the agency began tracking such data in 1994. All 23 of the analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expected a decline. Utilities usually tap stored gas from November to April to augment supplies as furnace use rises.