0947 ET - U.S. natural gas futures are holding their ground after making another test of the $3 level ahead of Monday's October contract expiration. Hot September weather and below-average inventory injections have supported prices, although cooling demand is seen tapering off sharply into the fall. "Temperature patterns remain mostly unsupportive, and despite a stretch of relatively small storage builds, inventories are set to enter the winter at healthy levels," Andy Huenefeld of Pinebrook Energy Advisors says in a note. Nymex natural gas is up 0.6% at $2.982/mmBtu.