Lingering cold weather and strong export demand fueled a modest rebound for natural gas forward prices across North America during the trading period from April 15-21, according to NGI’s Forward Look. Falling prices on the U.S. East Coast, however, brought the overall average down at the front of the curve, while more notable gains were seen for the upcoming winter.

May prices rose an average of only 1.0 cent for the period ending Wednesday, coming in a couple of cents shy of increases at the Henry Hub. Gains throughout the rest of the curve were more closely aligned with the benchmark, where the balance of summer (May-October) was up 4.0 cents to around $2.820, and the winter strip (November 2021-March 2022) climbed 6.0 cents on average, Forward Look data showed.

In the...