Natural gas futures could not carry over the momentum on Friday from the prior trading session as the expected cold front at the end of the month warmed in weather models. Fresh off a rare January storage injection, the February Nymex futures contract plunged 27.6 cents to $3.419/MMBtu. March futures fell 15.9 cents to $3.196.

market

At A Glance:

  • Late-January cold in question
  • Storage deficits to flip to surplus
  • Cash weakens on long weekend

Spot gas prices were weak overall, led by steep declines in West Coast markets given the long weekend. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. dropped $1.020 to $5.210.

Now in the middle of January, the blowtorch warmth that’s blanketed much of the country since after the Christmas holiday showed few signs of letting up. Weather models had hinted that...