Natural gas futures were slightly lower Friday morning as weather models started to disagree on the pattern for the latter third of the month. With the latest storage data was also still fresh on the minds of traders, the September Nymex gas futures contract was down 1.8 cents day/day at $4.122 at 8:45 a.m. ET.

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As for weather, unseasonably hot conditions are forecast beginning late this weekend, with an upper high ridge building across the eastern United States, according to NatGasWeather. Temperatures were forecast to reach the 90s on the East Coast, and even warmer air was seen for the South. Daytime highs in Texas could soar into the low 100s, resulting in “potentially the strongest several-days stretch of national demand this summer.” Similar conditions are expected in the...