SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Natural-gas futures on Thursday pared some gains after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that supplies of natural gas dropped 262 billion cubic feet for the week ended Jan. 31. The drop was a bit below expectations as analysts surveyed by Platts forecast a decline of between 273 billion cubic feet and 277 billion cubic feet. Total stocks now stand at 1.923 trillion cubic feet, down 778 billion cubic feet from a year ago and 556 billion cubic feet below the five-year average, the government said. March natural gas (NGH14) was at $5.07 per million British thermal units, up 4 cents, or 0.8%. It was trading at $5.11 before the data.