NEW YORK: US natural gas futures climbed about 3% to a one-week high on Thursday on forecasts for cooler weather and more heating demand over the next two weeks than previously expected and on rising prices for gas in global markets that should boost the value of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.

That price increase came despite a bearish bigger-than-expected weekly storage build that was also bigger than the five-year average for the first time in 15 weeks.

Front-month gas futures for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 7 cents, 3.0%, to $2.412 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) at 10:41 a.m. EDT (1441 GMT), putting the contract on track for its highest close since Oct. 15.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said utilities added 80 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas into storage during the week ended Oct. 18.