US natural gas futures jump on colder weather

US natural gas futures jumped over 7% on Tuesday to the highest in more than a month, as weather forecasts projected the temperature to be cooler than previously expected. Front-month gas futures for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 14.4 cents, or 7.8%, the biggest daily percentage gain since January 14, 2019, to settle at $1.981 per million British thermal units (mmBtu).

The session high was $1.983 per mmBtu, highest since January 17. The market got a lift "from some weekend adjustments to the short-term temperature views suggestive of much colder and more broad based patterns than had been anticipated," Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Illinois, said in a report.

Meteorologists projected weather in the Lower 48 US states will turn colder than normal during February 19-21 and February 27 - March 4. That is colder than Sunday's outlook.