As updated forecasts hinted at mild conditions developing later this month, natural gas futures continued to grind lower early Tuesday. The April Nymex contract was off 3.1 cents to $2.633/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

The latest forecast from NatGasWeather early Tuesday pointed to swings between light and moderate national demand over the next 15 days.

However, “with very light demand this week and the 13-16 day forecast again looking mild, the pattern is slightly bearish overall,” the firm said. “If the back end of the 15-day forecast were a little colder, it would make the coming pattern closer to neutral or even give it a slight bullish lean.”

The question for natural gas prices heading into Tuesday’s session will be whether bulls can “slow the steady bleed”...