U.S. natural gas futures slid about 2% on Friday on forecasts for milder weather and lower demand in two weeks and a 3% decline in European gas futures even though exports from Russia fell due to sanctions and the shutdown of a pipe in Ukraine. That U.S. price decrease came even as Texas prepares for another heatwave early next week that will boost power demand for air conditioning. U.S. front-month gas futures for June delivery fell 13.9 cents, or 1.8%, to $7.600 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) at 9:45 a.m. EDT (1345 GMT). That put the contract down about 6% for the week after rising about 11% last week. ... (full story)