Natural Gas Moves Higher

Updated from 1:30 p.m. EST

Natural gas futures climbed Thursday after the Energy Department's Energy Information Agency released inventory figures for January that were lower than analysts had anticipated.

Stocks of natural gas for the week of Feb. 2 were at 2.35 trillion cubic feet, which amounted to a draw of 224 billion cubic feet from the previous week. Analysts at A.G. Edwards had expected a draw of 217 billion cubic feet.

The March natural gas futures contract finished the day up 18 cents from Wednesday's close to $7.89, according to the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"Given the consistent cold weather over the last week, next week's figures will probably be similar to today's," said Bill O'Grady, assistant director of market analysis for A.G. Edwards. "If we continue to draw on an average pace, we'll end up at about 1.565 trillion cubic feet by the end of the heating season. That is well above average."

Crude oil and its distillates retraced losses from the prior trading session, when prices fell sharply even though the weekly petroleum inventory figure was lower than analysts' estimates.

Around 4:45 p.m. EST, crude was up $1.93 to $59.64. Heating oil added 6 cents to $1.72 a gallon, and gasoline was up 5 cents to $1.59 a gallon.

Prices for crude have been bouncing within a $55 to $60 range in recent days. Freezing temperatures blanketing much of the U.S. have produced upward price support for oil, as have geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Africa.