0933 ET - Forecasts for hot weather extending beyond Labor Day help lift U.S. natural gas futures as the market awaits the weekly inventory report from the EIA due at 10:30 a.m. ET. Analysts in a WSJ survey expect a 29 Bcf storage injection for last week, which would lower the inventory surplus over the five-year average to 159 Bcf from 167 the week before. "While the October natural gas contract may continue to test higher due to scorching hot weather, if winter contracts remain laggard on strong supply and risks of a milder-than-normal winter, substantial price upside may be difficult to realize," Eli Rubin of EBW Analytics says in a note. Nymex natural gas is up 1% at $2.985/mmBtu.