Natural Gas Futures Called Higher as Heat, Contract Expiration Seen Influencing Trade

Natural gas futures advanced early Monday as traders factored in continued strong summer cooling demand and the upcoming front-month expiration. The August Nymex contract, set to roll off the board later this week, was up 16.9 cents to $8.468/MMBtu as of around 8:40 a.m. ET. September was up 13.0 cents to $8.325.

Weather models shed cooling demand over the weekend, including the American model, which had entered the weekend hotter than its European counterpart, according to the NatGasWeather. 

The American dataset dropped 4 cooling degree days from its projections over the weekend, showing weather systems over the Midwest, Ohio Valley and New England that would result in “less extreme” national demand over the next week, the firm said.

“While the pattern over the next...