It was an explosive week in both the natural gas cash and futures markets, with pipeline maintenance and a surprise bearish inventory report fueling large price swings during the Aug. 7-11 trading period. 

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For cash prices, robust power burns amid extreme heat in California and Texas, along with softer production and curbed gas flows, led NGI’s Weekly Spot Gas National Avg. 20.5 cents higher on the week to $2.710/MMBtu.

Nymex natural gas futures, meanwhile, took their cue early in the period from technicals and the potential for scorching weather to spread into the back half of August. The September contract closed in on $3.000 midweek before stumbling on news of a larger-than-expected storage injection. On Friday, the September Nymex contract settled at $2.770, nearly flat...