NEW YORK: US natural gas futures edged up on Wednesday, driven by forecasts for colder weather and higher heating demand over the next few days than previously expected.

Also supporting the price gain was a reduction in the amount of gas producers have pulled out of the ground so far this month.

Front-month gas futures for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 1.6 cents, or 0.7%, to $2.33 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) at 10:21 a.m. EDT (1421 GMT).

However, the front-month was in technically oversold territory for a sixth day in a row for the first time since February.

Financial firm LSEG estimated 177 total degree days (TDDs) over the next two weeks, higher than Tuesday’s 163 TDDs.