U.S. stockpiles trigger gas drop

MARKET • Canadian natural gas fell after U.S. inventories last week rose more than analysts anticipated.

Alberta gas declined 4.4 per cent. Stockpiles gained 42 billion cubic feet to 2.471 trillion in the week ended March 31, 61 per cent above the five-year average, the Energy Department said. Inventories had been expected to increase 34 billion cubic feet, the median of 27 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

“The overall news for gas is bearish,” said Carl Neill, a consultant with Risk Man- agement Inc. in Atlanta.

Alberta gas for May delivery dropped 7.5 cents to $1.63 a gigajoule ($1.56 per million British thermal units) as of 2:45 p.m. New York time on NGX.

Gas for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 5.2 cents, or 2.4 per cent, to settle at $2.089 per million Btu.

Spot gas at the Alliance delivery point near Chicago declined 5.91 cents, or 2.7 per cent, to $2.1116 per million Btu on the Intercontinental Exchange.