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US Natural Gas Prices Spike 13%

US Natural Gas Prices Spike 13%
US Natural Gas Prices Spike 13%

Natural gas prices spiked on Monday as the market gained confidence that the severe cold gripping the United States will persist longer than previously thought, driving up heating demand and taxing gas stockpiles.
Front-month Henry Hub natural gas futures for February rose more than 13% on Monday, CNBC reported. 
The contract hit a session peak at $3.539 per million British thermal units, its highest level since Dec. 27.
The contract was last up 12.7% at $3.493 per mmBtu.
Updated forecasts show below-average temperatures persisting over the next two weeks, with the cold snap drifting eastward from the Midwest toward the East Coast. 
Traders were anticipating the cold would linger, but weather models available last week did not give them the confidence to take long positions in natural gas futures heading into the weekend, according to Jacob Meisel, chief weather analyst at Bespoke Weather Services.
“The forecast has turned significantly colder,” he said. “It is really the magnitude of the cold and the confidence in severity longer term that’s changed over the weekend.”
“There is surprisingly strong agreement even late in the week two forecast.”

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