U.S. natural gas futures fell nearly 6% to a three-month low on Tuesday, as forecasts for a milder December dampened the demand outlook for the fuel used to heat homes and businesses. After falling almost 11% on Monday, U.S. front-month gas futures slipped 28.7 cents or 5.9% to settle at $4.567 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), putting the contract on track for its lowest close since Aug. 31. "It's really about weather and forecasts that have turned much milder for December," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. "A week ago, there was some talk about a polar vortex that could come in and make December colder, but because forecasts have changed, the market has taken it on the chin here, two days in a row." For the month, the contract was down more than 15%, its biggest monthly percentage decline since January 2020. Data provider Refinitiv projected 310 heating degree days (HDDs) over the next two weeks compared with a 30-year normal of 370 HDDs for the period. HDDs, used to estimate demand to heat homes and businesses, measure the number of degrees a day's average temperature is below 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius). Preliminary data from Refinitiv showed output in the U.S. Lower 48 states averaged 96.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in November, up from 94.1 bcfd in October, and compared with a monthly record of 95.4 bcfd set in November 2019. Refinitiv forecast average U.S. gas demand, including exports, to rise slightly from 111.5 bcfd this week to 115.6 bcfd next week, but this was still lower than Monday's projections. With gas prices around $32 per mmBtu in Europe and $36 in Asia , traders have said buyers around the world will keep purchasing all the LNG the United States can produce.Week ended Nov 19 (Actual) Week ended Nov 12 (Actual) Year ago Nov 19 Five-year average Nov 19 U.S. weekly natgas storage change (bcf): -21 26 -11 -44 U.S. total natgas in storage (bcf): 3,623 3,643 3,943 3,681 U.S. total storage versus 5-year average -1.6% -2.2% Global Gas Benchmark Futures ($ per mmBtu) Current Day Prior Day This Month Last Year Prior Year Average 2020 Five Year Average (2016-2020) Henry Hub 4.87 5.20 2.87 2.13 2.66 Title Transfer Facility (TTF) 31.99 30.84 4.84 3.24 5.19 Japan Korea Marker (JKM) 36.25 34.89 6.80 4.22 6.49 Refinitiv Heating (HDD), Cooling (CDD) and Total (TDD) Degree Days Two-Week Total Forecast Current Day Prior Day Prior Year 10-Year Norm 30-Year Norm U.S. GFS HDDs 310 321 356 370 370 U.S. GFS CDDs 6 4 2 6 5 U.S. GFS TDDs 316 325 358 376 375 Refinitiv U.S. Weekly GFS Supply and Demand Forecasts Prior Week Current Week Next Week This Week Last Year Five-Year Average For Month U.S. Supply (bcfd) U.S. Lower 48 Dry Production 96.8 97.6 98.1 91.7 84.6 U.S. Imports from Canada 8.4 8.9 9.0 8.8 8.0 U.S. LNG Imports 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 Total U.S. Supply 105.3 106.5 107.1 100.5 92.8 U.S. Demand (bcfd) U.S. Exports to Canada 3.1 3.3 3.3 2.5 2.7 U.S. Exports to Mexico 5.3 5.4 5.4 5.7 4.9 U.S. LNG Exports 11.7 11.9 11.7 10.9 4.6 U.S. Commercial 13.4 13.2 13.8 14.6 11.1 U.S. Residential 21.1 20.8 21.8 24.1 16.5 U.S. Power Plant 26.2 25.8 24.5 28.4 24.5 U.S. Industrial 23.9 23.7 23.7 25.1 23.5 U.S. Plant Fuel 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.7 U.S. Pipe Distribution 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.1 U.S. Vehicle Fuel 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Total U.S. Consumption 91.9 90.9 91.2 99.5 82.5 Total U.S. Demand 112.0 111.5 111.6 118.6 94.7 U.S. weekly power generation percent by fuel - EIA Week ended Dec 3 Week ended Nov 26 Week ended Nov 19 Week ended Nov 12 Week ended Nov 5 Wind 11 14 14 14 9 Solar 2 2 2 2 3 Hydro 6 6 6 6 6 Other 2 2 2 2 2 Petroleum 1 1 1 1 1 Natural Gas 35 34 35 35 40 Coal 20 20 19 19 19 Nuclear 23 22 21 21 19 SNL U.S. Natural Gas Next-Day Prices ($ per mmBtu) Hub Current Day Prior Day Henry Hub 4.90 4.93 Transco Z6 New York 5.50 4.91 PG&E Citygate 5.50 6.00 Dominion South 4.54 4.47 Chicago Citygate 4.66 4.62 Algonquin Citygate 7.92 5.92 SoCal Citygate 4.85 5.22 Waha Hub 4.40 4.72 AECO 3.81 4.24 SNL U.S. Power Next-Day Prices ($ per megawatt-hour) Hub Current Day Prior Day New England 82.75 52.75 PJM West 47.00 24.00 Ercot North 41.00 40.00 Mid C 28.29 34.00 Palo Verde 44.75 38.25 SP-15 52.75 42.00 Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru and Scott DiSavino; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Marguerita Choy Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.