The NYMEX Novmember natural gas futures contract remained firm midday Friday as cold weather forecasts sparked buying interest, sources said.
As of 12:25 p.m. EDT (1625 GMT), the contract was trading at $3.631/MMBtu, up 4.4 cents from its close on Thursday. The prompt-month contract is trading at its highest level since early December 2011.
"The weather models are extremely bullish," said Gelber & Associates analyst Aaron Calder. "There are freezing temperatures for everything east of the Mississippi [River] next week and continuing on into November. These mark the unofficial start to winter next week."
Calder added that some meteorologists anticipate next month will be the coldest November since 2002.
Still, he noted that the day's uptick has been relatively "sluggish," and expects prices will "come back to earth" between $3.30/MMBtu and $3.60/MMBtu within the next week.
The contract has traded between $3.559/MMBtu and $3.647/MMBtu.
