Natural gas futures traded in a tight range of gains and losses to kick off the trading week, and the front month ultimately trended up slightly despite falling temperatures and waning weather-driven demand.

Coming off back-to-back modest gains to close out last week, the October Nymex gas futures contract on Monday settled at $2.608/MMBtu, up three-tenths of a cent day/day. November slipped 2.9 cents to $2.937.

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. rose 8.5 cents to $2.415. The average was bolstered by outsized gains in the Southwest, which saw highs in the 100s Monday and proved an exception to a broader weather tilt to the cooler conditions.

National Weather Service forecasts called for a widespread cooldown across the northern United States this week, with highs in the 70s and...