Forecasts showing heat setting up over key demand regions in early June supported higher natural gas futures prices in early trading Wednesday. The expiring June contract was up 3.7 cents to $2.950/MMBtu at around 8:50 a.m. ET. July was up 3.0 cents to $3.004.

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The latest forecast from Bespoke Weather Services early Wednesday showed warmer trends focused over the Midwest and East during the 11-15 day time frame.

“The cooler period on the way over the Memorial Day holiday continues to look quite brief before upper level ridging sets up shop once again in the eastern U.S.,” Bespoke said. “This keeps total demand over the next 15 days as a whole above normal, even with the cooler period in play.”

The firm said it expects variability for June overall but with “the bias...