Natural Gas Futures Maintain Upward Momentum Early as Cooler Temperatures in Sight Natural gas futures extended their recent gains in early trading Tuesday amid continued expectations for chilly temperatures over the next week and a half. After picking up 3.5 cents in the previous session, the May Nymex contract was up another 3.0 cents to $2.591/MMBtu at around 8:50 a.m. ET. The overnight run of the American Global Forecast System (GFS) added heating demand during the April 20-22 time frame, while the European model was milder trending for April 20-26 by showing less cold over the Great Lakes and Northeast, according to NatGasWeather.