A milder weather forecast and a mixed outlook in terms of production and export demand helped send natural gas futures lower in early trading Monday.

AM markets

The expiring October Nymex contract was off 10.9 cents to $2.030/MMBtu at around 8:50 a.m. ET. November futures were down 9.1 cents to $2.716.

Weather-driven demand expectations decreased over the weekend, driven by warmer changes after the current week that would trim heating degree days (HDD) over the northern part of the country, according to Bespoke Weather Services.

“We do still have a healthy cool shot this week, relative to time of year, but while there are some HDD in the north, we must also consider the total lack of demand in the South this week, as the cooler air” reduces cooling demand, Bespoke said.

September...