Natural gas futures surged midweek as Old Man Winter appeared ready to ring in the new year. Even with the potential for cold weather to last a couple of weeks, though, the January Nymex futures contract expired 3.1 cents lower at $4.024/MMBtu. The incoming prompt-month February contract settled at $3.850, down 3.5 cents from Tuesday’s close.

At A Glance:

  • Rare decline seen in Nymex expiration
  • January forecast finally chills
  • Cash softens in holiday trading

Spot gas, which traded Wednesday for gas delivery on Thursday and Friday, was lower across most of the country. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. tumbled 18.5 cents to $3.860.

After trending warmer in recent runs, weather models moved in the colder direction overnight and generally maintained the added demand in the 15-day...