The prospect of prolonged Gulf of Mexico (GOM) production shut-ins in the wake of Hurricane Ida helped send natural gas futures higher in early trading Wednesday. The October Nymex contract was up 7.1 cents to $4.448/MMBtu as of around 8:50 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

Bullish indicators have increased for the natural gas market since Tuesday morning, according to analysts at EBW Analytics Group. They pointed to cooling degree day gains for days nine through 15 in the latest model runs, and they noted hot weather in Texas that could help support both physical prices at Henry Hub and futures.

“It also is becoming more apparent that much of the production in the Gulf of Mexico could be shut in for all or most of September due to power outages and severe damage at Port Fourchon,” the analysts...