January natural gas futures were trading 15.4 cents lower at $3.673/MMBtu shortly before 9 a.m. ET Monday as forecasters pointed to weekend guidance showing more intense cold unlikely to arrive until around New Year’s Day at the earliest.
Natural gas futures sold off for a third straight session Tuesday, with weak physical prices, cooler forecast trends and the prospect of another above-average inventory build all helping to keep the bulls on the sidelines. Meanwhile, calls for more heat and humidity along the East Coast couldn’t stir up a stagnant spot market; the NGI Spot Gas National Avg. slumped 5.5 cents to $1.875/MMBtu.
On a day when Middle East tensions roiled oil markets and dominated energy headlines, natural gas futures turned in a quiet session Friday, with continued warmth in the forecast leaving prices range-bound heading into the weekend. The February Nymex contract settled at $2.130/MMBtu, up 0.8 cents. March added 1.9 cents to settle at $2.112.
Natural gas futures were humming along most of Wednesday, with prices moving in and out of positive territory amid little change in the weather forecast