Natural gas futures reenergized by weekend cold shift

A major colder shift from normal weather over the weekend pushed natural gas futures in early trading Monday. The November delivery Nymex contract was up 35.7 cents to $5.637/MMBtu.

Investors observed colder changes to the temperature for the eastern half of the America both for the current week and next week, resulting in an increase of 10 gas weighted degree days overall for the next two weeks.

The colder trends reenergized November contracts early Monday even as the temperature outlook remained hardly extremely bullish by conventional metrics.

Also supporting prices early Monday was an uptick in liquefied natural gas feed demand resulting from higher flows to the Sabine Pass and Freeport terminals.

November contract options expiration and final settlement could amplify volatility in the days ahead. If the cold outlook strengthens, more gains are possible for Nymex gas. Should the colder shift continue toward expiration, there will be no surprise to see $6 gain.