January Natural Gas Futures Climb as Winter Weather Moves in and Cash Prices Jump

• Forecasters predicted colder conditions for early December
• Liquefied natural gas volumes held near record levels
• Spot prices soared amid freezing temperatures

Natural gas futures climbed Monday as more intense winter weather loomed and forecasters predicted colder temperatures over the first half of December, increasing the likelihood of greater heating demand.

The January Nymex contract rose 3.9 cents day/day to settle at $2.882/MMBtu after taking over as the prompt month following the Thanksgiving holiday. February advanced 3.3 cents to $2.865.

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. soared 60.5 cents to $2.825 as temperatures were colder to start the week across the nation’s midsection following benign weather over the long holiday weekend. Chilly rains doused swaths of the...