Southwest Gas today says it has lost two-point-seven-million dollars in the second quarter, compared to a loss of 337-thousand dollars a year earlier. The utility says while net losses are not unusual between April and September, the sluggish economy and the housing slowdown hurt the company's natural gas operations. Southwest Gas says it expects its bottom line to improve when the economy picks up and more homes are sold or rented. The company provides natural gas service to more than one-point-eight-million customers in Nevada, Arizona and California.