NEW YORK: US natural gas futures dropped about 7% to a three-week low on Friday on forecasts for demand to drop and output to rise as the weather turns warmer than normal in late January and early February.

That price drop came even though the amount of gas flowing to US liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants was rising after it fell to a one-year low during this week’s Arctic freeze, which 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 fell 17.8 cents, or 6.6%, to settle at $2.519 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), their lowest close since Dec. 29.

That put the contract down for a fourth day in a row for the first time since November. For the week, the front-month was down by almost 24% after rising about 15% in each of the prior two weeks. This week’s price drop would be its biggest weekly percentage decline since it fell by just over 24% in a week in December 2021.