The nation's natural gas supplies fell last week, the government said Thursday.

The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reported that natural gas in storage shrank by 146 billion cubic feet to 2.083 trillion cubic feet in the week ended March 1.

Analysts expected a draw of 130 billion to 134 billion cubic feet, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

The inventory level was 14.8 percent above the five-year average of 1.814 trillion cubic feet, and 14.8 percent below last year's level of 2.444 trillion cubic feet, according to the government data.

Natural gas rose 11 cents to $3.58 per 1,000 cubic feet in New York.