Natural gas futures ceded ground in early trading Friday as forecasters saw slightly less longer-range cold potential in the latest model runs. After a 26.9-cent rally in the previous session, the December Nymex contract was down 9.4 cents to $5.055/MMBtu at around 8:50 a.m. ET.

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The latest 15-day forecast early Friday came in colder day/day, primarily a result of colder changes in Thursday’s midday and afternoon model runs, Bespoke Weather Services said in a note to clients.

“The overnight runs changed very little, and in fact looked slightly less threatening for notable cold potential due to more of a trough over and just south of Alaska in the medium range,” Bespoke said. “They do hint at some blocking on the Atlantic side, though that would likely just be enough to...