May 2 (Reuters) - U.S. oil and gas producer

ConocoPhillips ( COP ) missed Wall Street estimates for

first-quarter profit on Thursday, as demand concerns kept

commodity prices in check.

Average U.S. natural gas prices were 30% lower in the

quarter from the previous three months as a milder-than-expected

winter hurt demand for heating fuel and pulled down prices to a

three and a half-year low in February.

ConocoPhillips' ( COP ) total average realized price was $56.60 per

barrel of oil equivalent (boe), 7% lower than $60.86 per boe a

year earlier.

Its first-quarter production rose to 1.9 million barrels of

oil equivalent per day (boepd) from 1.79 million boepd in the

year-ago quarter.

The Houston, Texas-based company posted adjusted earnings

of $2.03 per share for the quarter ended March 31, below

analysts' average estimate of $2.04 per share, according to LSEG

data.

(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini

Ganguli)