After a bruising run a week earlier, natural gas futures rebounded Monday on substantial increases in expected heating demand over the weekend and a fresh bout of winter weather settling in across parts of the Midwest on Monday.

Evening Markets

The February Nymex gas futures contract jumped 15.6 cents day/day and settled at $2.602. The prompt month had dropped 10% over the prior week. March rose 14.2 cents to $2.598 on Monday, also recovering from a slump a week earlier.

Of last week’s activity, analysts at The Schork Report said, “the fact traders are unwilling to pay a premium to own gas for the final two delivery months of winter is as fundamentally bearish as it gets,” given that gas demand is typically the strongest in winter.

Observers said hints of a cold finish to winter,...