Massive price increases spurred by spring snow storms and pipeline maintenance lifted spot gas prices during the April 11-14 trading period, which covered gas flows through Tuesday because of the Good Friday holiday. NGI’s Weekly Spot Gas National Avg. jumped 57.0 cents to $5.855/MMBtu.

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Futures continued to surge as well, with a lack of sustained production growth fueling concerns about adequate supplies ahead of next winter. The May Nymex contract settled Thursday at $7.300, up 65.7 cents from Monday’s close.

With April weather so far continuing to bring along bouts of chilly temperatures, gas demand has yet to fall to the shoulder-season lows that are typically seen this time of year. Instead, the ongoing pull on gas to serve heating loads has resulted in a slow start to...