• March futures barely budge despite coldest weather in years
  • Prices seen needing to be higher to incentivize storage refill
  • Cash retreats from recent highs, but Northeast still strong

Weather model volatility left natural gas traders flummoxed on Monday, with double-digit increases early in the session nearly erased by the close. With the frigid cold descending from Canada into the Lower 48 seen possibly continuing into March, though, the March Nymex gas futures contract settled 1.9 cents higher than Friday at $2.882. April edged up 2.1 cents to $2.862.

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Spot gas prices also retreated across most of the country, though trading in the Northeast was notably volatile. New England cash traded as high as $14.000, but NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. dropped 2.5 cents to $3.985.

Even...