Natural gas futures managed a fifth straight day of gains on Thursday as buyers continued to buy up the curve in spite of near-term bearish pressure. The November Nymex gas futures contract settled Thursday at $2.945/MMBtu, up 4.6 cents on the day. December futures climbed 5.0 cents to $3.340.

At A Glance:

  • Production falls to 97 Bcf/d
  • Forecasts for mixed demand
  • NGI models draw of 41 Bcf

Spot gas, which traded Thursday for gas delivery through Saturday, barely budged at the majority of U.S. locations. However, the East Coast sold off sharply amid mild fall weather. NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. dropped 10.5 cents to $2.075.

After a stretch of momentum along the Nymex futures curve, the table was set for the latest government inventory report to put a stop to the recent...