As forecasts suggested a mild Christmas could give way to a chilly New Year’s, the natural gas market baked in a healthy dose of upside for January prices during the Dec. 16-22 trading period, NGI’s Forward Look data show.

Fixed gas prices for January delivery mounted double-digit gains throughout the Lower 48 for the period, with most locations exceeding the 17.9-cent week/week mark-up at benchmark Henry Hub.

Given a frigid cold pool looming to the north in Canada in projections for early January, Lower 48 traders showed no signs of complacency, recognizing the potential for outsized price spikes ahead even amid the glaring absence of threatening winter chills to date.

The potential for frostier conditions to develop in January, along with surging liquefied natural gas...