Natural gas forward prices broke free from oil and other commodities during the March 3-9 period, sending prices sliding ahead of an expected warmup next week, according to NGI’s Forward Look.

April fixed prices fell an average 20.0 cents during that time, while the summer strip (April-October) came off 14.0 cents on average. Price decreases for the next winter (November-March) recorded smaller losses, an indication that supplies are expected to remain tight ahead of the peak heating season.

After a slow start to the winter, a prolonged stretch of cold weather in January and February quickly drained storage inventories and set up a steep uphill climb for the market in order to boost stocks this summer.

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