Natural gas futures finished a volatile week on a high note, with the December Nymex contract jumping 42.5 cents day/day and settling at $6.400/MMBtu. January gained 42.4 cents to $6.754. Traders shrugged off a stout storage report and focused anew on approaching winter weather and long-term global demand.

At A Glance:

  • Domestic weather outlook shifts colder
  • IEA sees more challenges in Europe
  • Analysts expect large storage builds

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg., in contrast, dropped $1.165 to $2.610 amid a near-term demand drought, culminating a bumpy week of its own. Both cash prices and futures gathered momentum and then lost it multiple times through the past week.

Friday’s Nymex natural gas futures advance followed colder trends in both the American and European weather...