Natural gas prices blasted higher as futures opened Sunday night. Front month February natural gas futures were up 7% within the first few minutes of trading Sunday night, trading up to $4.25/mmbtu. The March natural gas contract was up ~4% to $3.54/mmbtu.
While LNG feedgas has recently been at record levels, the immediate reaction Sunday night appears to be weather related. Several forecasters on X have pointed to the potential for severe cold to descend deep into the US as January continues to shape up as a colder than average month. The week of January 20th in particular looks to be quite cold. Ben Noll (meteorologist for the Washington Post) says we are “officially on polar vortex watch.”