Natural gas futures on Tuesday traded sideways as markets weighed modest weather-driven demand and rising production against continued strength in exports.

Gas Futures

The December Nymex contract flipped between slight gains and losses throughout much of Tuesday’s session and ultimately settled at $2.692/MMBtu, down a half-cent day/day. January fell 2.0 cents to $2.844.

A day earlier, the prompt month dropped nearly 30 cents, wiping out gains made the previous week.

Amid mild fall temperatures, NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. declined 8.5 cents to $2.545.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes have hovered near or above 10 Bcf in November – around record levels – and have kept supply/demand balances tight. Still, production this week has ticked up to a recent high at the same time...