Natural gas futures were trading slightly higher early Wednesday as the latest forecasts advertised little change to the outlook and as technical factors were seen as a major influence on recent price action. The May Nymex contract was up 1.6 cents to $2.639/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

In terms of the weather outlook, updated forecasts early Wednesday showed only “minimal” changes compared to previous expectations, according to Bespoke Weather Services.

“We remain in a generally lower than normal demand regime at a time of year when demand is normally lower anyway, making for quite a weak picture on the weather side of the equation,” Bespoke said. 

While prices were up slightly in early trading, “our lean is that risk remains skewed toward more downside, thanks...