Natural gas prices have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting forecasts on winter heating demand.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in January eased down 0.1% Friday to settle at USD3.440 per million British thermal units by close of trade.
The January contract touched a high of USD3.505 per million British thermal units earlier Friday, the strongest level since December 10.
On the week, front-month natural gas prices jumped 4%, the first weekly gain in a month.
Natural gas prices rallied nearly 3.5% on Thursday after a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed natural gas supplies fell more-than-expected last week.
Inventories fell by 87 billion cubic feet in the same week a year earlier, while the five-year average change for the week is a decline of 140 billion cubic feet.
Investors were hesitant to extend the previous day’s rally on Friday, after weather service provider MDA Weather said it expected mostly normal weather in the heavily populated U.S. Northeast from December 26 through January 4.
According to AccuWeather, the low temperature in New York on December 30 was expected to be 29 degrees Fahrenheit (2 Celsius), 1 degree higher than usual.
Meanwhile, heating oil for February delivery rose 0.85% over the week to settle at USD3.010 per gallon by close of trade Friday.
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