A decline in liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand aided a small pullback in natural gas futures on Wednesday. With weather models stabilizing around a warm outlook for the first half of January, the new prompt February Nymex contract settled at $2.422/MMBtu, down 2.2 cents from Tuesday’s close. March slipped 1.7 cents to $2.422.

Spot gas prices were mixed, but big losses on the East and West coasts left NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. unchanged at $2.525.

After some major price fluctuations during the first two trading sessions of the short holiday week, Wednesday’s more muted action along the Nymex futures curve offered traders a chance to digest the whirlwind swings. 

“As the market limps towards 2021, there are numerous questions in the air regarding the price path in...