NEW YORK: US natural gas futures climbed about 2% to a 15-week high on Wednesday on a drop in output and forecasts for warmer weather over the next two weeks that should boost the amount of gas power generators burn to produce electricity to keep air conditioners humming.

That price increase was kept in check by the tremendous oversupply of gas still in storage. Analysts forecast gas stockpiles were about 31% above normal levels for this time of year.

Front-month gas futures for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 4.3 cents, or 1.8%, to $2.387 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) at 8:51 a.m. EDT (1251 GMT), putting the contract on track for its highest close since Jan. 29.

That kept the front-month in technically overbought territory for a ninth day in a row for the first time since April 2022.