Natural gas futures added a few pennies in early trading Friday as the market mulled signs of tightening balances following the latest round of government inventory data, while forecasts continued to hone in on mild February temperatures. 

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

The March Nymex contract was up 3.9 cents to $2.495/MMBtu at around 8:30 a.m. ET.

The overnight weather data produced only minor changes to the temperature outlook, according to NatGasWeather. The firm noted ongoing disagreement between the cooler American dataset and the European model starting next week and extending into mid-February, though both models remained “quite bearish” during this time frame.

“There will still be bouts of chilly air into the West and Plains next week but not cold enough or widespread enough to counter...