With the heart of the winter heating season poised to deliver impressive chills for key portions of the Lower 48, natural gas forward prices surged higher during the Jan. 5-12 trading period, though a sharp sell-off for Nymex futures Thursday suggested recent gains may have been overdone.

Fixed price Henry Hub contracts for February delivery jumped 97.5 cents to end the period at $4.887/MMBtu, according to NGI’s Forward Look. Meanwhile, numerous hubs, particularly those in demand markets bracing for frigid conditions this month, saw front month basis markups of $1-plus.

As for February Nymex futures, close observers of recent price action risked a severe case of whiplash. Like a bottle rocket, prompt month futures rallied 60.8 cents on Wednesday only to swiftly crash back...