Natural gas futures moved back above $3.00/MMBtu Monday as export demand reached fresh highs and weather models added back some previously lost demand for the 15-day period. With expiration looming later this week, the November Nymex contract climbed 5.3 cents to $3.024. December edged up 5.8 cents to $3.253.

Markets

Spot gas prices surged at the start of the week, driven by strong demand in the country’s midsection. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. leapt 50.0 cents to $2.990.

Wednesday’s expiration of the November Nymex futures contract may incite some erratic price behavior this week, but Monday’s move higher appeared to be justified given the tightening supply/demand balance. On the export front, NGI data showed feed gas deliveries to U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export...