NEW YORK: US natural gas futures slid about 3% to a five-week low on Tuesday on forecasts for demand to keep dropping and output to keep rising as the weather turns warmer than normal through at least early February.

That price drop occurred even though the amount of gas flowing to US liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants climbed over the past week after it fell to a one-year low during last week’s Arctic freeze. That extreme cold also boosted daily gas demand to a record high and cut output to a one-year low by freezing wells. Front-month gas futures for February delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange were down 8 cents, or 3.3%, to $2.339 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) at 9:07 a.m. EST (1407 GMT), putting the contract on track for its lowest close since Dec. 13.

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