November natural gas is expected to open a penny higher Monday morning at $2.87 as weather data shows both lowered heating and increased cooling load near term. Overnight oil markets eased.

“The very warm pattern continued on the models over the weekend with just a little bit of noise here and there,” said Matt Rogers, president of Commodity Weather Group in a morning report to clients.

“October 2017 is tracking toward record low heating degree days (trying to replace the 1963 benchmark record) and record high cooling degree days (besting 2007’s record). [Monday’s] forecast is mostly a heating demand loss, but we did find some transient weaker warming in the Midcontinent in the six- to 10-day that added a few heating degree days [HDD] back into the forecast and combined with increased cooling degree days [CDD] (especially South) for a total degree day gain this morning.”

In its Monday morning report the National Weather Service reported for the week ended Oct. 14 New England was expected to see just 25 HDDs or 70 less than normal. CDDs were estimated at 13, or 13 above normal. The Mid-Atlantic was forecast to experience 10 HDDs, or 69 under its norm, and 19 CDDs or 17 above its typical seasonal tally. The greater Midwest was predicted to “enjoy” just 27 HDDs or 55 less than normal while CDDs were seen at seven, or five greater than normal.

AccuWeather.com reported Hurricane Nate passed through the central Gulf of Mexico on Saturday night, weakening as it moved inland over Mississippi and Alabama. The storm made its first landfall in far southeastern Louisiana near the mouth of the Mississippi River on Saturday evening, and a second landfall occurred near Biloxi, MS, Sunday night.

Nate continued unleashing heavy rain across the South, leaving more than 100,000 residents without power in Alabama and Mississippi. It eventually weakened to a tropical storm early Sunday morning before weakening into a tropical depression shortly before 10 a.m. CDT Sunday, AccuWeather.com said.

In overnight Globex trading November crude oil fell 2 cents to $49.27/bbl and November RBOB gasoline fell 2 cents to $1.5414/gal.