NEW YORK: US natural gas futures eased about 1% to a one-week low on Wednesday on rising output so far this month that should allow energy firms to keep injecting more gas into storage in coming weeks than usual for this time of year.
That price decline came despite forecasts for more demand over the next two weeks than previously expected.
On their second to last day as the front-month, gas futures for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 2.8 cents, or 0.8%, to $3.509 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) at 9:05 a.m. EDT (1305 GMT), putting the contract on track for its lowest close since June 12 for a second day in a row.
One factor that has weighed on gas prices since mid-April was the growing surplus of gas in storage.
Even though the weather was hotter than normal last week, analysts projected energy firms still injected more gas into storage than usual, likely boosting stockpiles to around 6% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Tuesday was the hottest day in more than a decade for millions of residents across the Northeast, weather forecaster AccuWeather said in a report, noting temperatures in Philadelphia and Boston hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius), while New York City broke the record high from a heat wave in 1888. To escape that heat, homes and businesses cranked up their air conditioners, boosting power prices to their highest since January in some markets and stressing some regional power grids.
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