January Nymex natural gas futures tumbled in thin volume trade Tuesday, coming off the extended Christmas holiday weekend and ahead of the contract’s expiration at the close of business Wednesday. The more heavily traded February contract also stumbled as traders positioned in preparation for its move into the lead position.

At A Glance:

  • January futures slip in low volume trade
  • February more active
  • Cash mostly higher on modest cold

The January contract settled down 6.0 cents at $2.550/MMBtu. February futures sank 7.1 cents to finish at $2.419.

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. was 21.5 cents higher from Friday at $2.020 Tuesday. Northeast and Appalachia regional averages stumbled amid a modest, brief warming trend, while colder conditions across the bulk of the country drove...