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Natural Gas Rises to Near Five-Month High as Hot Weather Forecasts Boost Demand

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Natural gas traded near a five-month high early Friday as hot long-term weather forecasts boosted expectations for cooling demand.

Gas for July delivery was last seen up US$0.04, or 1.1%, to US$3.38 per million British thermal units, the highest since Feb. 6.

Long-term forecasts from the National Weather Service expect most states east of the Rocky Mountains to see higher than seasonal temperatures over its six to 10 day outlook, with the hottest temperatures coming for the big markets of the Upper Midwest, boosting air-conditioning demand.

The rise comes a day after the Energy Information Administration reported that inventories of the fuel increased by 76 billion cubic feet last week. The build lifted inventories to 2.84 trillion cubic feet, 5.7% above the five-year average.

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