Natural gas futures retreated in early trading Wednesday as analysts predicted more volatility heading into the prompt month expiration. The August Nymex contract, set to roll off the board Wednesday, was down 24.3 cents to $8.750/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET.

NGI Morning Natural Gas Price & Markets Coverage

Natural gas prices went on a “wild ride” in Tuesday’s session, turning in a “violently volatile” day of trading, Bespoke Weather Services observed. 

Price action, which saw the August contract go as high as $9.752 before pulling back, appeared to be “driven by money flows/positioning rather than changes in the data, as we do often see around the time of contract expirations, albeit not usually this wild,” Bespoke said.

Technically speaking, there could be “more downside pressure the next couple of...