U.S. natural gas futures eased about 1% on Friday as output neared record highs and forecasts for hot weather were revised slightly lower, which would mean lower demand for air conditioning. Also weighing on prices was the ongoing outage at the Freeport liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Texas, which has left more gas in the United States for utilities to inject into stockpiles for next winter. Forecasts called for weather to remain hotter than normal through at least mid August. Gas-fired generators have provided more than 40% of U.S. power in recent weeks, according to federal energy data. Even with gas ... (full story)