American natural gas futures fell by about 3% to a one-week low on Friday.

The fall in natural gas prices is caused by forecasts of lower demand this week and the next than expected and signs that the quantity of gas shipped to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants was down slightly. First-month gas futures for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 7.8 cents, or 2.6%, to $2.881 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), their lowest closing price since June 6. The fall in futures prices occurred despite forecasts of warmer weather until the end of June, which is expected to increase the quantity of gas-fired electric generators consumed to operate air conditioners