NEW YORK: US natural gas futures slid about 2% on Wednesday on forecasts for less demand next week than previously expected, rising output and an ongoing oversupply of gas in storage.

Analysts said there was still about 17% more gas in storage than normal for this time of year even though injections have been smaller than usual for nine of the past 10 weeks after several producers cut output earlier in the year when futures prices dropped to 3-1/2 year lows in February and March.

Higher prices in April and May, however, prompted some drillers, including EQT and Chesapeake Energy, to boost output in June and July.

EQT is the nation’s biggest gas producer and Chesapeake is on track to become the biggest after its planned merger with Southwestern Energy. EQT posted a smaller-than-expected second-quarter loss on Tuesday on higher sales volumes.

Front-month gas futures for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 4.8 cents, or 2.2%, to $2.139 per million British thermal units at 10:09 a.m. EDT (1409 GMT).