NEW YORK: US natural gas futures eased on Wednesday as an increase in output in recent days offset raised forecasts for demand over the next two weeks. Front-month gas futures fell 3.4 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $2.527 per million British thermal units (mmBtu).

That puts the contract down about 4% in September after rising by a 10-year monthly high of 46% in August. For the quarter, the contract gained about 44%, the most in a quarter in four years. The premium of futures for December over November, meanwhile, hit a record high of 61 cents per mmBtu on Wednesday.

Data provider Refinitiv said output in the Lower 48 US states rose to a two-week high of 87.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) on Tuesday from a four-month low of 84.4 bcfd last week. For the month, however, output was on track to decline for a second time in a row in September to a 23-month low of 86.7 bcfd as storms in the Gulf of Mexico, pipeline maintenance and low prices earlier in the year due to coronavirus demand destruction caused energy firms to shut wells and cut back on new drilling.

With cooler weather coming, Refinitiv projected demand, including exports, would rise from 83.7 bcfd this week to 85.3 bcfd next week due to higher heating usage and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. That was higher than Refinitiv's forecast on Tuesday.

The amount of gas flowing to LNG export plants averaged 5.7 bcfd in September. That was the most in a month since May and was up for a second month in a row for the first time since hitting a record 8.7 bcfd in February as rising global gas prices prompted buyers to reverse some cargo cancellations.