Natural gas futures retreated in early trading Monday as forecasts over the weekend advertised milder conditions that would limit early season cooling demand. The June Nymex contract was down 2.3 cents to $2.935/MMBtu at around 8:45 a.m. ET.

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Changes in the weather data over the weekend pointed to lower overall demand for the next 15 days compared to Friday’s projections, according to Bespoke Weather Services.

This comes as the current round of cooler temperatures “gives way to warmth, although the warmth is farther north as opposed to being focused down in the South” where it would result in higher cooling degree days (CDD), Bespoke said. “We do suspect this warmer trend holds in the eastern half of the nation as we move into late May and early June.” 

By that time...