Reflecting a spectrum of blue and orange temperature projections on weather maps at this early juncture in the season, natural gas forwards trading was mixed during the Nov. 23-Dec. 1 trading period. Strong gains for western markets countered declines throughout much of the eastern two-thirds of the Lower 48, NGI’s Forward Look data show.

Fixed price January prices increased sharply at hubs along the West Coast and in the Pacific Northwest. PG&E Citygate surged $2.677 week/week to reach $13.806/MMBtu. January fixed prices at Northwest Sumas rallied $3.427 to $14.595.

This comes as the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest inventory data showed storage in the Pacific and Mountain regions notably lagging historical norms. Pacific region storage stood at 226 Bcf as...