NEW YORK: US natural gas futures climbed almost 2% on Friday on forecasts for warmer weather and higher air conditioning demand over the next two weeks.

Front-month gas futures rose 3.1 cents, or 1.9%, to settle at $1.669 per million British thermal units. For the week, however, the front-month lost about 4% after output rebounded earlier this week, putting the contract down for a third week in a row for the first time since January.

Refinitiv said production in the Lower 48 US states averaged just 87.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in June, down from a 16-month low of 88.2 bcfd in May and an all-time monthly high of 95.4 bcfd in November. On a daily basis, however, output hit a one-month high of 88.3 bcfd this week, up from a 19-month low of 85.7 bcfd in late May.

With warmer weather coming, Refinitiv forecast US demand, including exports, would rise from 77.8 bcfd this week to 85.8 bcfd next week and 87.1 bcfd in two weeks.