Oil prices end lower, natural-gas futures rally by nearly 10%

Oil futures finished lower on Thursday, giving back roughly half of what they gained in the previous session as traders continued to weigh the prospects for a deal on the U.S. debt ceiling. Natural-gas futures, meanwhile, rallied by nearly 10% to their highest finish since mid-March, after the Energy Information Administration reported on Thursday a smaller-than-expected weekly rise in U.S. supplies of the fuel. June West Texas Intermediate crude
CLM23,
-1.25%
fell 97 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $71.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. June natural gas
NGM23,
+10.70%
gained 23 cents, or 9.6%, to settle at $2.59 per million British thermal units, the highest front-month finish since March 13, according to Dow Jones Market Data.