Natural gas futures retreated Monday in a move that was not completely unexpected given the quick pace at which prices rallied last week. With pressure from cooler weather outlooks and weaker power burns, the September Nymex natural gas futures contract settled 8.5 cents lower at $2.153. October fell 8.9 cents to $2.287.

Evening markets

Cash prices, however, bounced a bit after the weekend, leading NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. up 15.5 cents to $1.950.

On the futures front, bullish sentiment is building for natural gas, although analysts expect volatility to remain front and center over the next several weeks. Cash market demand is likely to weaken considerably during that time, which should put significant downward pressure on Henry Hub futures as storage continues to build, according to EBW...