Natural gas futures on Monday closed above $4.00 for the first time this year as European calls for U.S. exports remain robust and forecasts point to continued strong domestic weather-driven demand. The February Nymex gas futures contract settled at $4.079/MMBtu, up 16.3 cents day/day. March rose 10.8 cents to $3.834.

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At A Glance:

  • Production falls to 97 Bcf/d
  • Forecasts for mixed demand
  • NGI models draw of 41 Bcf

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. gained 33.5 cents to $5.905.

Thomas Saal, StoneX Financial Inc.’s senior vice president of energy, said reduced production early this year in concert with cold blasts across the Lower 48 and strong demand for U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe boosted market sentiment.

“So I’m not surprised at all to see these...