Aside from further discounts at Western Lower 48 hubs, natural gas forwards generally gained ground during the Dec. 14-20 trading period as the prospect of chillier conditions arriving in early 2024 lent support to prices.

Fixed prices for January and February delivery rallied week/week at Henry Hub. The January contract at the national benchmark exited the period at $2.452/MMBtu, up 11.0 cents, NGI’s Forward Look data show.

Numerous Lower 48 hubs similarly saw modest fixed price gains for January and February.

Basis Premiums Fade

However, locations trading at basis premiums for the 2024 winter generally struggled to maintain such mark-ups with mild December temperatures erasing weather-driven demand.

This proved especially true for western Lower 48 locations that,...