Natural gas for August delivery slid 0.5 cent to $3.996 per 1,000 cubic feet during morning trading on Aug. 5.
U.S. crude inventories unexpected fell the week of July 27-Aug 1, a sign demand could be rebounding;
Oil prices slipped to near $71 a barrel Wednesday morning (Aug. 5) amid mixed economic news from the U.S.

Natural Gas Company News:

XTO ENERGY INC (Aug. 5): The company recently reported a lower profit but has raised its '09 output outlook. XTO Energy said it is increasing its targeted rise in 2009 production to 20% from 16% and and is increasing its budget for development and exploration expenditures to $3.1 billion from $2.75 billion. XTO ENERGY INC raised its 2009 production growth target to a range of 16 percent to 20 percent, up from its prior estimate of 14 percent to 16 percent.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (Aug. 3): Aubrey McClendon told analysts on a conference call that overseas firms are showing "enormous interest" in U.S. natural-gas shale plays around the lower 48 states. McClendon said Chesapeake Energy Corp. sees no reason to cut back production even though the industry faces a shortage of storage.