The battle for $3.000/MMBtu natural gas is heating up, even if furnaces aren’t quite doing the same. After an initial drop to an intraday low of $2.855, the November Nymex gas futures contract bounced and ultimately settled only 1.6 cents lower on the day at $2.929. December futures slipped 2.8 cents to $3.312.

At A Glance:

  • Traders comfortable with storage
  • Cold not likely until late October
  • Pipeline work planned in Canada

Spot gas, which traded Friday for delivery on Sunday and Monday, was mixed as warmer weather was on the way to the East Coast, while Texas was expected to usher in cooler temperatures. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. fell 3.5 cents to $2.040.

Following the first bearish storage report in 11 weeks, traders on Friday opted to brush off the modest expansion...