Natural gas forward markets remained quiet as they closed out March, with near-record export demand going head to head with generally weak domestic demand.

The May contract, which took over the prompt-month position on Tuesday, finished the period ending Wednesday (March 31) essentially flat from where it averaged on March 25, according to NGI’s Forward Look. Similarly stable prices were seen across the forward curves, with most contracts shifting only a few cents in either direction.

The sleepy action in forward markets mirrored what was seen along the Nymex gas futures curve. Mobius Risk Group pointed out that Wednesday’s trading range for the May futures contract was slightly more than 8 cents wide, yet ultimately resulted in only a 1.5-cent change on the day. The...