The NYMEX September natural gas futures settled 5.8 cents higher Thursday at $2.816/MMBtu after the US Energy Information Administration announced a lower-than-expected storage build for the week that ended July 27. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. Register Now The front-month contract traded Thursday between $2.740/MMBtu and $2.828/MMBtu. The EIA announced a storage build of 35 Bcf for the week that ended July 27, lifting US inventories to 2.308 Tcf. Total stocks are 688 Bcf below inventories one year ago and 565 Bcf below the five-year historical average. This announcement made last week the fourth consecutive week of lower-than-expected builds. The initial price reaction to the storage number was an increase of about 5 cents, as supply concerns intensified. An S&P Global Platts survey of analysts called for a 45-Bcf injection. Looking ahead to the NYMEX winter strip, the January and February contracts […]