Ahead of the Bell: Natural gas supplies

NEW YORK (AP) — The Energy Department is expected to report on Thursday that the nation's natural gas supplies grew by 70 billion to 74 billion cubic feet in the week ended Sept. 28, according to a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. A build of that size would be below the 101 billion cubic feet put in storage in the comparable week a year ago and below the five-year average addition of 78 billion cubic feet. The nation's gas reserves remain well above average levels for this time of year. The Energy Information Administration releases its weekly report at 10:30 a.m. EDT.