Natural gas futures advanced early Thursday as traders contemplated potential energy impacts of tropical weather expected to target the Gulf Coast by next week. The September Nymex contract was up 6.3 cents to $3.960/MMBtu as of around 8:50 a.m. ET. October was up 6.9 cents to $3.994.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) as of early Thursday was monitoring a disturbance in the west-central Caribbean that it said had a 90% chance of cyclone formation over the next 48 hours, potentially threatening coastal states along the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend.

“The system is expected to enter into the Gulf of Mexico Friday night and continue moving northwestward toward the central or northwestern U.S. Gulf Coast, potentially bringing dangerous impacts from storm surge, wind and heavy...