US Gas gains as hot weather seen stoking demand, trimming glut

US natural gas futures advanced, touching a 37-week intraday high, as hotter forecasts signaled increased demand for the power-plant fuel and stoked speculation that there will be more below-average supply gains ahead. 
Gas prices have jumped 13% since May, rallying for the fourth straight month, as stockpile gains came in below average for five straight weeks. 
Gas futures for July delivery rose 2.9 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $2.585 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures earlier rose to $2.635, the highest intraday price since Sept. 29, according to bloomberg economics news. 
Gas inventories totaled 2.972 trillion cubic feet on June 3, US Energy Information Administration data last week showed. The supply glut to the five-year average fell to 32.1%, the least since February, after a string of storage injections that came in below normal. 
Warmth will push across the lower 48 states over the next two weeks, a change from forecasts late last week, said MDA Weather Services.