With hot temperatures in the current week expected to fade after the weekend, natural gas futures lost ground in early trading Tuesday. As of around 8:50 a.m. ET, the September contract was down 3.2 cents to $3.913/MMBtu.

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The market struggled to find direction in Monday’s session despite sizable gains in projected cooling degree days (CDD) in recent forecasts, analysts at EBW Analytics Group said. 

“Early in the day yesterday, futures raced higher,” the EBW analysts said. “The September contract, however, quickly met resistance at $3.938 and then fell to $3.857 — just a few ticks above last Friday’s close.

“Unlike on Friday, however, futures were able to rally again in the afternoon, with the September contract closing near its high for the day.”

In terms...