With January poised to bring a return to more seasonal conditions following exceptional December warmth, natural gas futures advanced in early trading Thursday. 

The February Nymex contract was up 6.1 cents to $2.498/MMBtu.

Both the American and European weather models shifted warmer overnight to extend milder adjustments from runs on Wednesday, according to NatGasWeather.

“Most of the demand was lost due to less cold air into the U.S. Jan. 5-10, although both were colder for Jan. 11-12,” the firm said. 

Weather systems sweeping across the Midwest and East should result in close to seasonal demand next week, with a potential bump in demand Jan. 5-7, NatGasWeather said.

However, models were warmer trending for this time frame over the past 24 hours, according to the...