Jeremiah Shelor

January natural gas was set to open about 4 cents higher Friday at around $2.640, with the anticipated arrival of frigid temperatures offering traders something to ponder heading into the holiday weekend.

The U.S. added one natural gas rig for the week ended Dec. 22, helping the domestic tally finish higher and enter the holiday weekend on a positive note, according to data released Friday by Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI).

The U.S. rig count finished higher for the week ended Dec. 22, netting one additional unit overall to head into the holiday weekend on a positive note, according to data released Friday by Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI).

In a shortened trading day Friday ahead of the Christmas holiday, natural gas futures nosed higher as forecasts continued to show frosty weather through the end of the year.

Natural gas markets spent the week looking ahead — to an extended holiday weekend, perhaps, and to the arrival of widespread frigid temperatures starting around Christmas Day. Most points traded near even, while prices in the Northeast and out West flashed some volatility, and the NGI Weekly Spot Gas Average fell 5 cents to $2.91/MMBtu.

January natural gas was set to open about 4 cents lower at around $2.595 Thursday, approaching the lows set last week even amid calls for the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to report a robust withdrawal in its 10:30 a.m. EDT storage inventory report.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday reported a larger-than-average storage withdrawal that exceeded consensus estimates, and prices got a bounce after some overnight selling.

A cold forecast and a bullish government storage report couldn’t rescue slumping natural gas futures Thursday, as January took out last week’s all-time contract low. Meanwhile, spot market bulls were stuck waiting on cold temperatures expected to move into most of the country by next week, and the NGI National Spot Gas Average slipped 22 cents to $2.77.

January natural gas was set to open about 4 cents higher at around $2.734 Wednesday, erasing most of the prior day’s losses as the market continues to look forward to a swell of late-month heating demand.