NEW YORK: US natural gas futures eased about 1% on Tuesday on a decline in liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pipeline exports and forecasts for mild weather to keep heating demand low through at least mid-March.

That price decline came despite a continued decline in output as several producers cut back on new drilling after prices collapsed to a 3-1/2-year low in February.

Front-month gas futures for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange were down 2 cents, or 1.0%, to $1.896 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) at 8:42 a.m. EST (1342 GMT). On Monday, the contract closed at its highest since Feb. 8.

Prices collapsed to an intraday low of $1.511 per mmBtu on Feb. 27, their lowest since June 2020, as near-record output, mostly mild weather and low heating demand this winter allowed utilities to leave significantly more gas in storage than usual for this time of year.

Analysts estimated current gas stockpiles were around 31% above normal levels.