As analysts continued to mull the balance implications of the latest inventory report, traders shrugged off a cooler shift in the overnight guidance to send natural gas futures a few cents higher early Friday. The September Nymex contract was up 1.5 cents to $2.197/MMBtu at around 8:40 a.m. ET.

AM markets

The overnight data from the American modeling advertised a large cooler adjustment for late August, resulting in a decline of 9-10 forecast gas-weighted degree days (GWDD), according to Bespoke Weather Services. The European model “held firm,” showing a similar outlook compared to 24 hours earlier, the forecaster said.

The American dataset showed “yet another cooler trough swinging through the eastern half of the nation” later this month, Bespoke said. “Given the variability we...