Natural gas futures hovered close to even in early trading Monday, with prices pausing after recent gains even as analysts pointed to further upside moving into the summer. The June Nymex contract was down 1.7 cents to $2.914/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

Weather-driven demand expectations trended slightly higher over the weekend, with the forecast period containing a mix of heating degree days (HDD) and cooling degree days (CDD), according to Bespoke Weather Services.

“Cooling into the eastern half of the nation later this week gives HDD a boost for a few days, but the pattern is projected to turn warmer as we move to the middle of the month, lifting CDD totals somewhat, though not yet to levels high enough to significantly boost demand,” Bespoke said. “We feel the warmer...