Natural gas futures dived lower Wednesday even as demand for U.S. exports held strong, forecasts called for the harshest freeze of the winter and analysts expected a hefty storage withdrawal. The February Nymex gas futures contract lost 25.2 cents day/day and settled at $4.031/MMBtu. March fell 20.3 cents to $3.845.

At A Glance:

  • Forecasts for cold ease slightly
  • Demand for U.S. LNG near record
  • Market expects storage pull near 200 Bcf

Cash markets moved in the opposite direction as near-term demand loomed large. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. jumped $1.010 cents to $6.520.

The latest forecasts pulled back modestly from expectations earlier in the week for a bitter cold pattern over the northern and eastern United States for late January into early February. But the anticipated...