The spring doldrums the U.S. natural gas market is accustomed to this time of year will have to wait at least another week to materialize in the cash market. Though price gains paled in comparison to recent weeks, NGI’s Weekly Spot Gas National Avg. climbed 31.0 cents during the April 18-22 trading week to $6.785/MMBtu.

eia storage

Nymex futures, however, tumbled in dramatic fashion amid a weak near-term outlook. After touching an intraweek high of $8.065 on Monday, the May contract settled Friday at $6.534, part of an ongoing technical correction on profit-taking.

The continued strength in the cash market stems from lingering cold weather in parts of the country that are keeping heating demand propped up. For example, in the Northeast alone, warmer weather was finally prevailing across...