A warming weather outlook and reports of a possible setback in the timeline for recovery in exports out of Louisiana had natural gas futures trading sharply lower early Wednesday. The November Nymex contract was down 19.0 cents to $2.665/MMBtu at around 8:50 a.m. ET.

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Analysts at EBW Analytics Group attributed the move lower to reports late Tuesday of a barge sinking in the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Louisiana, an event that raises the prospect of further delays to the Cameron liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal’s return to full operations.

With the sinking barge “forcing shut-down of the channel” gas prices fell “sharply in after-hours trading,” the EBW analysts said. “The time frame for reopening the channel is not yet known, but reopening today seems unlikely, and...