Natural gas slid to a seven-and-a-half-year low, falling to an intraday low of $2.409 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) on 4 September 2009. But, from there, it recorded a jump of 56% in just a few days of trading. The price was $3.76 per mmBtu as on 15th September. Natural gas prices were under pressure due to shortage of storage as well as moderate demand due to an economic downturn. Meanwhile, for this time of the year, gas inventories are 17% above the five-year average and the US Energy Department expects supplies to exceed the record of 3.545 trillion cubic feet reached on 2 November 2007.