February natural gas futures got knocked down by LNG export headwinds early Friday but rallied in thin volumes into the close as mild forecasts turned a touch cooler.

At A Glance:

  • Freeport LNG hobbled by train outage
  • Prompt month to roll off Monday
  • Production still 2 Bcf/d off highs

The February Nymex gas futures contract rose 14.1 cents to $2.712/MMBtu. The contract spent much of the day lower but late in the day ran up about 30.0 cents, with volatility fueled in part by thinning volumes ahead of its expiry at close Monday. March and April contracts settled marginally lower.

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. was unchanged at $2.420. Declines in most regions were offset by gains in the Northeast and Appalachia, which braced for snow and cold over the weekend. 

[Mexico...