Natural gas futures posted a modest gain Tuesday, marking a third consecutive day of advances as traders contemplated a mixed weather outlook and wide-ranging expectations for this week’s early storage report.

Markets

The December Nymex contract advanced 6.4 cents day/day to settle at $2.775/MMBtu. January rose 7.7 cents to $2.900.

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. fell 11.0 cents to $2.320. Colder northern temperatures moved in on Monday and hung around Tuesday, but warmer conditions were expected by Wednesday.

While mid-range forecasts were bearish at the start of the week, with temperatures expected to be above normal across much of the Lower 48 late this week and into next, forecasts Monday were slightly cooler for early December. The weather data overnight maintained those colder...