• Weather models hint at polar set-up easing before month’s end
  • Hefty storage withdrawals still on tap for next few weeks
  • Midwest cash strong amid below-freezing temperatures

After hinting at some weakness earlier in the week, natural gas futures moved decidedly lower on Tuesday as traders realized they may have given Punxsutawney Phil a little too much credit. With the brutal cold circulating through the Lower 48 seen fading before month’s end and a more seasonal pattern in store thereafter, the March Nymex gas futures contract settled 4.7 cents lower at $2.835. April fell 3.9 cents to $2.823.

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Spot gas prices were mixed as the Arctic air bringing snow and freezing rain to the central United States was to begin penetrating farther south and east. NGI’s Spot Gas National...