A particularly bearish temperature outlook for the back half of March pressured natural gas futures lower in early trading Monday. The April Nymex contract was down 10.0 cents to $4.625/MMBtu at around 8:50 a.m. ET.

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Forecast trends over the weekend were bearish, with models advertising comfortable temperatures for much of the Lower 48 starting Tuesday and continuing until late this month, according to NatGasWeather.

Temperatures are projected to “be so exceptionally comfortable” between Thursday and March 23 that weak demand will likely “result in the first weekly storage build of the year,” the firm said. “And with a warmer-than-normal pattern favored to continue March 24-31, another build is likely” for the subsequent Energy Information Administration storage...