Natural gas futures traded sharply lower early Monday as the latest forecasts lowered weather-driven demand expectations and signaled that mild weather could stretch into early December. The December Nymex contract was off 15.1 cents to $2.844/MMBtu at around 8:40 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

Weather data was “decidedly” bearish trending over the weekend, with forecast demand dropping compared to Friday’s expectations, according to Bespoke Weather Services.

Models showed a “strong” positive Eastern Pacific Oscillation (EPO) at the end of the month that signals “what is increasingly likely to be a warm to very warm start to December,” the forecaster said. “…In order to weaken the positive EPO signal, we need to see a meaningful shift in tropical forcing eastward away from the Indian...