NYMEX April gas futures settle up 7.3 cents on colder weather forecasts

NYMEX April natural gas futures settled 7.3 cents higher at $3.529/MMBtu Monday on an expected boost in heating demand due to near-term forecasts for below-average temperatures for most of the US, sources said.

The National Weather Service is predicting below-average temperatures all across the US except for the West Coast in both its six- to 10 and eight- to 14-day outlooks.

"Prices are highly reactive to the weather forecasts, as the late season demand will drive the final storage number of the withdrawal season," noted Kilduff Report analyst Mike Fitzpatrick.

The current storage level is supportive for prices, and "by the end of withdrawal season we are going to have 500 Tcf less of gas in storage than we had last year," said TFS Energy Futures trader Gene McGillian.

The April contract has traded between $3.408/MMBtu and $3.539/MMBtu.