Front-month natural gas futures posted another strong gain on Thursday, bolstered by a bullish government inventory report and expectations for more to follow amid extreme cold that is both driving heating demand and curbing production.

At A Glance:

  • Production at 96.5 Bcf/d
  • Uneven weather outlook
  • Storage situation improves

Following a 15.1-cent decline the prior day – the only loss of the year to date – the February Nymex gas futures contract rallied anew on Thursday, gaining 5.8 cents day/day to settle at $3.097/MMBtu. It reached an intraday high of $3.231.

The March and April contracts, however, both lost modest ground.

NGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. shed 33.0 cents to $3.320, though the decline followed strong gains over the two prior days.

The U.S. Energy...