0948 ET - U.S. natural gas futures are higher as near-term forecasts are for hotter weather, favoring power-sector demand. "Most of the weather data for the 12-15 day forecast period favors hotter than normal temperatures gaining ground across much of the northern U.S. for stronger than normal demand," NatGasWeather.com says in a note. Recent and coming weather patterns suggest the next two EIA inventory reports will show near to slightly smaller than usual storage builds, the forecaster adds. Nymex natural gas is up 4.7% at $2.788/mmBtu.