Natural Gas Market Update

Natural-gas prices, meanwhile, dropped by almost 6% after U.S. government data showed that supplies fell less than expected last week despite the bitter cold in the eastern U.S.

April natural gas NGJ15, +0.48%  fell 16.5 cents, or 5.8%, to end at $2.697 per million British thermal units on its first full trading day as a front-month contract.

The EIA reported Thursday that supplies of natural gas declined by 219 billion cubic feet for the week ended Feb. 20. Analysts surveyed by Platts forecast a decline of between 239 billion cubic feet and 243 billion cubic feet.