Volatile February Natural Gas Plunges Early as Fundamental Outlook Seen Bearish

Warm mid-February temperatures and recovering production volumes helped sink natural gas futures in early trading Monday.

After rallying 14.1 cents Friday, the expiring February Nymex contract was off 20.7 cents to $2.505/MMBtu at around 8:50 a.m. ET on thin volume. The March contract was down 6.5 cents to $2.110.

After trading in a wide range in Friday’s session, the February contract is poised for further volatility heading into final settlement Monday, EBW Analytics Group analyst Eli Rubin said.

From a fundamental perspective, a number of bearish developments were weighing on the outlook heading into Monday’s session, according to Rubin.

These included weaker heating demand expectations into mid-February, signs of production fully recovering from this month’s...