NYMEX April natural gas futures settled 6 cents higher at $3.872/MMBtu Friday on forecasts for below-normal temperatures through the end of March and higher-than-normal nuclear outages, analysts said.
The contract has gained 22.7 cents in the last three sessions, and hit an intraday high of $3.924/MMBtu Friday, highest for a front-month contract since October.
"An extended period of colder-than-typical weather continued to support strong residential and commercial heating," analysts with Global Hunter Securities said.
Based on forecasts, "the colder weather patterns could continue straight into the end of March," they said, adding "higher-than-typical nuclear power outages were also seen as an influence" on the gas market.
But Wells Fargo analysts said the rally will be short-lived, saying that "a little event called shoulder season will end the party," referring to the time of year bridging winter heating demand and summer cooling demand.
