Natural gas cash prices spiked early in the past week amid a blast of frigid air. But milder temperatures settled in during the weekly trading period and strong production pushed the physical market into negative territory.

NGI’s Weekly Spot Gas National Avg. for the Nov. 30-Dec. 1 period shed 10.5 cents to $2.745.

Conditions during the past week were defined early by freezing overnight lows from the Mountain West to the Northeast – major gas-consuming territory – and surging prices. The jumps on Monday, followed by modest gains the next day, however, were not enough to propel the weekly average.

As the trading week closed, KRGT Rec Pool in the Rockies was down 45.5 cents to $4.265, while PNGTS in New England was off $1.015 to $3.955 following a warm-up.

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