• Natural gas futures end 2020 sharply higher
  • Weather models increase coming cold in next two weeks
  • Cash weakens on mild near-term pattern

Colder trends in the forecast, set against a backdrop of bullish expectations for prices in the year ahead, saw natural gas futures rally to start off 2021. As of around 8:45 a.m. ET Monday, the February Nymex contract was up 13.0 cents to $2.669/MMBtu.

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Last week natural gas futures closed the book on 2020 with a bang after weather models flipped colder for the next couple of weeks and production dipped back below 90 Bcf/d. The February Nymex futures contract settled Thursday at $2.539, up 11.7 cents day/day. March climbed 10.4 cents to $2.526.

Spot gas, which traded Thursday for delivery through Monday, was mostly lower on a lack of...