U.S. natural gas futures climbed to the highest level since September as unusually hot weather on the first day of summer drove up demand from power plants.
The Southwest will see record heat early this week while above-normal readings sweep most of the lower 48 states through June 29, according to MDA Weather Services. Gas deliveries to electricity producers Monday will be 34.3 billion cubic feet, the most for 2016 and for the time of year, PointLogic Energy data show. Government projections forecast power-plant demand for gas will be at an all-time high later this summer.
