Natural gas prices gave back nearly all of the prior session’s gains on signs the market may be returning to its chronic oversupply. Prices for the front-month July contract settled down 7.7 cents, or 2.7%, at $2.773 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The July contract expired at close. The more heavily traded August contract settled down 9.6 cents, or 3.4%, at $2.77/mmBtu. Many traders may have been pushing back against strong gains from Thursday. Government data yesterday showed the smallest weekly surplus in more than two months and analysts said a long-oversupplied market had come into balance. But many feel that balance is only temporary. The U.S. Energy Information Administration also said late Thursday that production had grown 1% this week despite pipeline shutdowns for maintenance. Production is back at its near-record pace of 72 […]