NEW YORK: US natural gas futures were little changed on Wednesday on forecasts for steady, near normal heating demand for the next two weeks.

Front-month natural gas futures fell 0.3 cents, or 0.1 percent, to settle at $2.893 per million British thermal units.

The latest weather forecast calls for seasonal temperatures over the next two weeks that are expected to keep heating demand near normal levels for this time of year.

Thomson Reuters on Tuesday had forecast US gas consumption would rise to an average of 83.8 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) next week from 79.2 bcfd this week. That compares with Tuesday’s forecasts of 82.8 bcfd for next week and 79.7 bcfd this week. Traders noted most of the changes for next week from Tuesday’s forecast resulted from higher than expected exports to Canada and a slight increase in heating demand in the United States.

US gas exports overall were expected to average 8.9 bcfd this week, up 51 percent from a year earlier, primarily because of much higher shipments of liquefied natural gas, according to Reuters data.

Production in the lower 48 US states last week set a record high of 75.8 bcfd, easily topping the prior high of 75.0 bcfd in September 2015, according to Reuters data. Output so far this week has averaged 75.0 bcfd.

Analysts said utilities likely added a near normal 62 bcf of gas into storage in the week to Oct. 27, which would leave the amount of fuel in inventory about 1.1 percent below the five-year average for this time of year at around 3.8 trillion cubic feet (tcf). That compares with an increase of 56 bcf during the same week a year earlier and the five-year average build of 60 bcf for the period.

Analysts forecast utilities will add just 1.7 tcf of gas into storage during the April-October injection season in part because of low output earlier in the year and rising sales abroad. That is much less than the 2.1 tcf added on average over the past five years.

If correct, that would leave stockpiles at the end of October at around 3.8 tcf, compared with a record high 4.0 tcf on Oct. 31 last year and a five-year average (2012-16) of 3.9 tcf.

Some traders noted that unless supply and demand forecasts change, utilities could start pulling gas out of inventory as soon as next week to meet seasonal increases in heating demand.

Other traders said, however, they expect utilities to continue injecting gas into storage for a few more weeks, boosting total stocks to about 3.9 tcf, near the five-year average for the annual peak. Traders said that should be more than enough gas to meet demand this winter if the latest forecasts for another warm winter are correct.

The US National Weather Service expects temperatures in December, January and February to be warmer than normal across much of the country again this year. The last two winters (2015-16 and 2016-17) were among the warmest on record.—Reuters