On what is typically a sleepy day in natural gas trading, Friday proved anything but as the front of the futures curve skyrocketed. Once the smoke had cleared, the September contract had surged 17.4 cents higher to $2.356, while October shot up 17.1 cents to $2.495.

Evening markets

Spot gas prices also rallied as sweltering heat stoked $2-plus gains in California. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. jumped 14.0 cents to $2.205.

With cooler weather outlooks for most U.S. regions outside the West, slightly higher dry gas production figures and a dip in liquefied natural gas (LNG) feed gas demand, futures market observers were perplexed at the pace of Friday’s rally.

“I’m not getting sense of any real fundamental reason for September and October to be up over 17 cents,” said broker Steve...