Markets

With the weather outlook stable overnight and the market turning its attention to weekly government storage data likely to show a lighter than average withdrawal from U.S. natural gas stocks, March Nymex futures were trading slightly higher early Thursday.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a 78 Bcf withdrawal for the week ending Feb. 8, a draw that came in slightly below expectations.

Lifted by increasing export trade, U.S.-led natural gas is forecast to grow rapidly to 2040, supported by broad-based demand and plentiful, low-cost supply, BP plc’s economics team said Thursday.

After a volatile start to the year, natural gas forward prices quieted down during the Feb. 7-13 period as mild weather hit much of the United States.

After a choppy day of trading, natural gas bulls failed to gain momentum even as weather models stabilized and showed cold weather returning to the country for the last few days of the month. The Nymex March gas futures contract settled Thursday at $2.573, down two-tenths of a cent. April slipped 1.1 cents to $2.61.

After a choppy day of trading, natural gas bulls failed to gain momentum even as weather models stabilized and showed cold weather returning to the country for the last few days of the month. The Nymex March gas futures contract settled Thursday at $2.573, down two-tenths of a cent. April slipped 1.1 cents to $2.61.

After selling off late Tuesday and overnight on a warmer outlook from the major weather models, March natural gas futures were down 11.6 cents to $2.572/MMBtu shortly before 9 a.m. ET Wednesday.

One of the last likely hoorahs for natural gas futures in the dwindling weeks of winter came to an abrupt stop Wednesday after a flip in American weather models painted a milder end to February, and moved more in line with European guidance that had already caught onto the less intimidating cold. The Nymex March gas futures contract fell 11.3 cents to settle at $2.575, while April slipped 8.4 cents to $2.621.

One of the last likely hoorahs for natural gas futures in the dwindling weeks of winter came to an abrupt stop Wednesday after a flip in American weather models painted a milder end to February, and moved more in line with European guidance that had already caught onto the less intimidating cold. The Nymex March gas futures contract fell 11.3 cents to settle at $2.575, while April slipped 8.4 cents to $2.621.