A hotter shift in forecasts over the weekend helped spark a rally for natural gas futures in early trading Monday. The August Nymex contract was up 7.9 cents to $3.753/MMBtu at around 8:50 a.m. ET.

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Forecasts increased demand expectations over the weekend by showing hotter temperatures to close out the month of July, according to Bespoke Weather Services.

“The change was not large” in terms of total gas-weighted degree days, “but there are some notable shifts on the regional level, as the lower Midwest down to Texas appears set to finally see some heat after quite a tame period in recent weeks,” Bespoke said. “We are projecting highs in Dallas, for example, to reach the 100 degree mark a few times in the medium range, something of course not uncommon for this time of...