US Natgas Futures Hold near Five-Week High as Northeast Freezes

U.S. natural gas futures held near a five-week high on Jan. 11 on the coldest day of the winter so far in the Northeast region.

That lack of price movement came despite a 3% decline in European gas futures. U.S. gas futures followed European prices about two thirds of the time during the last quarter as utilities scrambled for U.S. LNG cargoes to replenish low stockpiles in Europe and meet surging demand in Asia.

Front-month gas futures remained unchanged at $4.080 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) at 8:12 a.m. EST. On Jan. 10, the contract closed at its highest since Dec. 3. In the spot market, power prices in New England for Jan. 11 jumped to their highest since January 2018 as homes and businesses cranked up their heaters to escape the region's coldest day of the winter.