Price action in the Nymex natural gas futures market on Friday was about as thrilling as watching paint dry. After sideways action throughout much of the day, the April Nymex futures contract settled at $2.771, off six-tenths of a cent from Thursday’s close. May closed unchanged at $2.809.

Evening Markets

Spot gas, which traded Friday for gas delivery on Monday, was mostly higher on an approaching cold front seen pushing into the Lower 48. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. climbed 9.0 cents to $2.645.

Friday’s dip for the Nymex curve was the seventh straight day that futures ended the session in the red. The extended decline largely was attributed to increasingly warm weather outlooks for March, with Friday’s weather data upholding the balmy outlook.

Bespoke Weather Services said the...