Natural gas prices trimmed about a nickel or so from the forward curve as spring appears to have sprung a couple of weeks early. The April contract was down 6 cents on average for the March 4-10 period, while the summer strip (April-October) was down 4.0 cents, according to NGI’s Forward Look.

Similar losses were seen further out the curve as the storage picture has improved a bit in recent weeks. An increase in oil prices also is seen as potentially driving some modest increases in associated gas production later this year. The winter 2021-2022 strip fell an average 5.0 cents for the trading period ending Wednesday, while summer 2022 slipped a penny on average, Forward Look data showed.

Only New England points registered any notable deviation from other U.S. markets, and even...