Adds latest prices

By Scott DiSavino

Oct 22 (Reuters) -U.S. natural gas futures were little changed onTuesday asforecasts for warmer-than-normal weather and low heating demand throughearly November and a drop in feedgas to liquefiednatural gas (LNG) export plants offseta reduction in output so far this month.

Front-month gas futures NGc1 for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 0.1 cent to settle at $2.311 per million British thermal units (mmBtu).

Financial group LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 U.S. states slipped to 101.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in October, down from 101.8 bcfd in September. That compares with a record 105.5 bcfd in December 2023.

On a daily basis, output was on track to drop by about 2.5 bcfd over the past four days to a preliminary four-month low of 100.3 bcfd on Tuesday. Traders, however, have noted that preliminary data is often revised later in the day.

Analysts have projected that energyfirms would cut output in calendar 2024 for the first time since 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic cut demand for the fuel. That's because many producers have curtailed drilling activities so far this year after gas prices at the U.S. Henry Hub NG-W-HH-SNL benchmark in Louisiana fell to a 32-year low in March. Prices have remained relatively low since then. NGAS/POLL HH/GAS

MILD WEATHER

Meteorologists projected temperatures in the Lower 48 states will remain warmer than normal through at least Nov. 6. Despite those mild forecasts, it will be cooler in November with more heating demand than in October.

The average temperature in the Lower 48 will drop to around 55 degrees Fahrenheit (12.8 Celsius) in early November, according to the latest forecasts, down from an average of 63 F now. That would still be above the normal average of 51 F in early November.

With cooler weather coming, LSEG forecast average gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, would rise from 95.5 bcfd this week to 98.8 bcfd next week. Those forecasts were lower than LSEG's outlook on Monday.

The amount of gas flowing to the seven big U.S. LNG export plants rose to an average of 13.0 bcfd so far in October, up from 12.7 bcfd in September. That compares with a monthly record high of 14.7 bcfd in December 2023.

On a daily basis, output was on track to drop to a preliminary two-week low of 12.1 bcfd due to reductions so far this week at a couple of plants in Louisiana - Cheniere Energy's LNG.N 4.5-bcfd Sabine Pass and Cameron LNG's 2.0-bcfd Cameron.

Feedgas to Sabine was on track to decline to 3.9 bcfd on Tuesday from an average of 4.9 bcfd over the past week, while gas flows to Cameron were on track to drop to 1.5 bcfd on Tuesday, the same as Monday. That is down from an average of 2.2 bcfd over the prior seven days at Cameron.

LNG export plants, like Cameron, can pull in more gas than they can turn into LNG because they use some of that gas to fuel equipment used to liquefy the gas.

Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Leslie Adler

For gas data on the LSEG terminal type ENERGY in the search bar and then go to the GAS drop down and the NORTH AMERICA drop down.

For Interactive Map, type 'Interactive Map' in the box at upper left of the LSEG terminal

For graphics on Baker Hughes rig counts, see: http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/15/rigcount/index.html

For next-day SNL U.S. gas prices, see: 0#SNL-NG

For next-day SNL U.S. power prices, see: 0#SNL-PWR

For U.S. natgas price and storage polls, see: NGAS/POLL

For U.S. nuclear power outages, see: NUKE/

For U.S. Northwest hydro power report, see: NWRFC

For U.S./Canada natural gas rig count vs Henry Hub futures price, see: http://tmsnrt.rs/2eT9k44

For the U.S. natural gas speed guide, see: USGAS

For the U.S. power speed guide, see: USPOWER

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NYMEX Henry Hub options and futures combined 0#3CFTC023651

NYMEX Henry Hub futures only 0#1CFTC023651

ICE Henry Hub options and futures combined 0#3CFTC023391

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NYMEX Henry Hub Penultimate gas swaps 0#3CFTC03565C