With forecasts teasing the prospect of hotter temperatures arriving by early June, natural gas futures continued to climb in early trading Wednesday. Coming off a 34.8-cent gain in the previous session, the June Nymex contract was up 19.9 cents to $8.503/MMBtu at around 8:50 a.m. ET. July was up 20.0 cents to $8.594.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

Updated forecasting as of early Wednesday showed only a minor net change in projected gas-weighted degree days, which continued to track above-normal overall for the 15-day period, according to Bespoke Weather Services.

The firm characterized the weather outlook as bullish, considering “models are growing more adamant about the return of stronger heat as we end the month and head into at least the start of June.” A “new trough into the West” during this time...