NEW YORK: US natural gas futures jumped about 5% to a one-week high on Monday on forecasts for colder weather and higher heating demand in late November than previously expected and as record amounts of gas flowed to US liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants.

“Colder revisions to weather models over the weekend initiated the rally,” analysts at energy consulting firm Gelber and Associates said. “It is possible that some of the move was accelerated by short-covering.”

After declining for five days in a row, front-month gas futures for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 16.4 cents, or 5.4%, to settle at $3.197 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), their highest close since Nov. 6.

On Friday, the contract closed at its lowest since Oct. 25. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) did not release its weekly gas storage report last week due to a planned systems upgrade.