Natural gas futures floundered Friday, capping a see-saw week of trading that ultimately left prompt prices in a holding pattern of sorts, with traders trying to assess an uncertain weather outlook, choppy production estimates and stubbornly high storage levels.

At A Glance:

  • Stout storage endures
  • Weather outlook evolves
  • Freeport remains key factor

The April Nymex gas futures contract settled at $2.338/MMBtu, down 17.6 cents day/day. The May contract lost 18.0 cents to $2.446.

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. slid 3.5 cents to $2.550.

The front month closed above $2.50 three times during the past week. With notable drops in other sessions, though, Friday’s finish left the April contract down from the prior week’s finish of $2.430.

NatGasWeather said forecasts Friday...