Natural gas futures pushed higher in early trading Monday as the market continued to ponder the balance implications of recent data showing a steep decline in drilling activity. 

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

Coming off a 7.6-cent gain to close out last week’s trading, the June Nymex contract was up another 6.0 cents to $2.326/MMBtu at around 8:40 a.m. ET.

Futures rallied on Friday after the latest Baker Hughes Co. rig count revealed a precipitous 16-rig decline in natural gas-directed drilling in the United States.

The sharp drop-off in natural gas rigs “may represent a flashing bullish inflection point for production expectations,” EBW Analytics Group analyst Eli Rubin told clients early Monday. “The gas-directed rig count has finally slumped below year-ago levels,” and the “broad-based...