NEW YORK–Natural gas futures climbed Friday as traders bet that weather forecasts for colder temperatures later in the month would boost demand for the heating fuel. Natural gas for December delivery settled 5.5 cents higher, or 1.5%, to $3.660 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices finished higher for the eighth time in nine trading sessions, rising 2.8% over the past week. “At the end of the day, people don’t want to be short [natural gas] with the threat of a cold snap coming down the road,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst with Price Futures Group. “Basically it’s a weather play […]