Natural gas futures were down sharply in early trading Monday as weather models over the weekend advertised a pattern that would deliver notably warmer-than-normal temperatures for early December. The December Nymex contract was down 25.2 cents to $4.813/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET.

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Compared to Friday’s outlook, the largest change in the temperature outlook occurred during the 11-15 day time frame, from Dec. 2-Dec. 6, according to Maxar’s Weather Desk.

“The change is a result of a deeper trough over the eastern Pacific, alongside waning of the North Atlantic block,” the firm said in its latest forecast. “This allows for a much warmer pattern for most of the U.S. and Canada, where belows are limited to the East Coast at the start of the period.”

The forecast...