Natural gas futures pushed higher in early trading Tuesday following gains in projected weather-driven demand from the latest forecasts. Coming off a 4.2-cent gain in the previous session, the February Nymex contract was up 10.3 cents to $2.684/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

The American Global Forecast System model added 12 heating degree days (HDD) overnight, while the European model picked up 3-4 HDD by trending slightly colder for the Jan.16-19 time frame, according to NatGasWeather.

“No major changes to the timing of major features to impact the U.S. over the coming 15 days, with conditions too mild the rest of this week, a bump in demand this weekend into the start of next week,” NatGasWeather said. The pattern is expected to shift “back to light demand Jan. 13-17...