Natural gas futures broke even Thursday as markets looked past improved U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export demand and a light storage report to the expected onset of fall weather, eased cooling demand and the likelihood of more robust stockpile injections in coming weeks.

EIA storage Sept. 3

The October Nymex contract inched up one-tenth of a cent day/day and settled at $2.487/MMBtu. November dipped four-tenths of a cent to $2.927.

Cash prices climbed higher, however, as near-term cooling demand mounted along with a late-summer burst of heat in the West. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. rose 12.0 cents to $2.260.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported an injection of 35 Bcf into storage for the week ending Aug. 28, a figure that was in line with median estimates...