Natural-gas prices drop to 7-year lows

NEW YORK (AP) — Natural-gas prices tumbled again Thursday, hitting new seven-year lows after the government reported more supplies were put into storage as the entire country pares down on energy usage.

That will mean huge savings for a lot of people this winter when the heating bill arrives.

Natural gas for October delivery gave up 19 cents to $2.525 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices dropped as low as $2.50 per 1,000 cubic feet — the lowest since March 2002 — after the government reported that U.S. natural-gas supplies grew again last week and are now nearly 18 percent above the five-year average.

Natural gas, a key energy source for power plants, has plummeted to less than a third the price it fetched last summer, and its contract on the Nymex gave up nearly 23 percent in the past six trading days.

Meanwhile, oil prices were tugged higher by a rise in equities markets and a weak dollar.

Benchmark crude for October delivery added 12 cents to $68.17 a barrel on the Nymex. In London, Brent crude gave up 30 cents at $67.36 on the ICE Futures exchange.

At the pump, retail gas prices fell less than a penny to $2.596 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service.