NEW YORK: US natural gas futures on Tuesday lost 5 percent, falling to their lowest level in almost eight weeks, on forecasts for less hot weather, allowing storage builds to increase as air conditioning use eases.

Traders also noted prices have been mostly declining since hitting a 14-month high near $3 on July 1 as production increases as pipelines exit maintenance outages.

Front-month gas futures for September delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 13.3 cents to settle at $2.615 per million British thermal units. The contract fell over 5 percent in post-settlement trade.

That was the biggest one-day percentage decline since early July and put the front-month down for a fourth day in a row, the longest losing streak since February.

Peak demand for power in Texas hit an all-time high on Monday and was expected to top that on Tuesday as a lingering heat wave baked the state.

Analysts estimated utilities added about 34 billion cubic feet during the week ended Aug. 5. That compares with builds of 57 bcf a year earlier and a five-year average for that week of 53 bcf.

Despite weeks of smaller-than-normal injections since April, analysts still expect stockpiles to start the winter heating season in November at an all-time high after utilities left record amounts of gas in storage after the mild winter of 2015-2016.

That inventory glut has kept a lid on next-day prices at the Henry Hub chmark in Louisiana, which have averaged $2.18 so far this year. That compares with $2.61 in 2015, the lowest since 1999.—Reuters