Natural gas futures found fresh footing Monday, posting double-digit gains as forecasts pointed to seasonally strong heating demand that more than offset losses late last week. The April Nymex gas futures contract settled at $2.606/MMBtu, up 17.6 cents day/day. It had shed 11.3 cents on Friday. May climbed 16.7 cents on Monday to $2.726.

At A Glance:

  • Prompt month gains 17.6 cents
  • Cool conditions to drive demand
  • Production, storage still robust

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. gained 28.0 cents to $2.890.

Production hovered around 100 Bcf/d to start the week, according to Bloomberg estimates, on par with the highs of the year. But NatGasWeather noted forecasts pointed to a “moderately bullish overall U.S. pattern” for the 15-day projection period – enough to send traders...