Natural gas traders on Thursday couldn’t be convinced to go long despite the extended Christmas holiday weekend, especially with the weather data turning milder with every run of the latest models. The January Nymex gas futures contract settled Christmas Eve at $2.518, down 9.0 cents. February slipped 7.6 cents to $2.512.

Markets

Spot gas prices, which were for gas delivered through Monday, were mostly lower amid the mostly light holiday weekend demand outlook. However, a chilly, wet forecast in the Northeast sparked big gains there. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. ultimately climbed 9.0 cents to $2.780.

Still digesting the most recent storage data, traders appeared cautious early in Thursday’s Nymex futures session. January prices were slightly lower early in the day but generally...