For the first time in nine sessions, natural gas futures on Friday forged ahead as discount buying finally overtook the mild weather forecasts and elevated supplies that had sapped the will of price bulls most of this month.

At A Glance:

  • Prompt month gains 2.8 cents 
  • Bargain buying saves the day
  • Fundamentals ‘indelibly weak’

The March Nymex gas futures contract on Friday gained 2.8 cents day/day and settled at $1.609/MMBtu.  

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. shed a half-cent to $1.595, sliding a fourth straight day, though prices rallied across the densely populated Northeast.

[Want to visualize Henry Hub, Houston Ship Channel and Chicago Citygate prices? Check out NGI’s daily natural gas price snapshot now.]

Analysts had anticipated prompt month futures would find...