Natural gas futures gained ground Monday. April closed out its run as the prompt month amid forecasts for light domestic demand but robust export volumes. The April Nymex contract settled at $2.586/MMBtu, up 2.9 cents day/day.

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May, which becomes the prompt month on Tuesday, advanced 3.4 cents to $2.653.

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. gained 7.0 cents to $2.285.

Production levels held steady at around 90 Bcf Monday, while liquefied natural gas (LNG) export demand remained strong. LNG feed gas volumes approached 11.6 Bcf, near a record and on par with levels recorded throughout last week, according to NGI data.

LNG has proven a vital offset to waning domestic demand. Futures climbed three times last week largely on export momentum recently fueled by demand from Europe, where...