Weather models teasing additional January cold helped to rally natural gas futures early Wednesday ahead of front month expiration. The January Nymex contract was up 15.5 cents to $4.210/MMBtu at around 8:50 a.m. ET.

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After Tuesday’s runs produced warmer trends, weather models shifted colder overnight by “enhancing colder risks” for the eastern half of the Lower 48 for days 11 to 15 of the outlook period, according to Bespoke Weather Services.

“There is support for a colder setup, as forcing signals…have deviated from what we typically see in a La Nina base state,” Bespoke said. This means “it would not be a surprise to see some cold come eastward, but we still need to see this progress forward in the forecast to finally gain confidence.”

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