As the market weighed signs of production growth against potential storage adequacy concerns heading into the refill season, natural gas futures advanced in early trading Monday. The May Nymex contract was up 8.1 cents to $5.801/MMBtu at around 8:40 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

From a technical point of view, the focus remains on whether the May contract can clear a band of key resistance targets between $5.839 and $6.032, according to ICAP Technical Analysis.

Should bulls push prices beyond this “area of contention,” there would be “immediate room up to $6.466, $6.603-6.47, possibly even $6.913 next,” ICAP analyst Brian LaRose told clients ahead of Monday’s session. “If they cannot, the bears will have an opportunity to try and turn the tide in their favor. As a reminder, the bears...