1045 ET - Natural gas prices drop below $4, falling 1.8% to a session-low $3.981/mmBtu after the EIA reports a weekly storage increase that was above average. The US government agency says gas-in-storage rose by 49B cubic feet last week, just above forecasts in a WSJ survey for a 48-bcf rise, and above the five-year average rise of 42 bcf. Total storage is now 2.776T cubic feet, 17% below last year and 6% below the five-year average. Analysts say strong winds in Texas-- the US's top wind producer--helped to reduce demand last week as power plants used more wind power and less natural gas to generate electricity. (dan.molinski@wsj.com)