0802 ET - U.S. natural gas futures are again sharply higher after overnight forecasts added to the extreme cold that entered the outlook over the long weekend. The "extreme bullish shift catalyzed an enormous short squeeze at the front of the curve," Eli Rubin of EBW Analytics says in a note. The reset will likely settle out over the next seven to 10 days, "but physical market fireworks into the weekend may drive upside first," he adds. After several weeks of below-average storage draws, next week could be the coldest EIA storage week since 2018, he says, "with early projections suggesting the second-largest weekly storage draw in history at 342 Bcf." The Nymex front month is up 20% at $4.696/mmBtu following yesterday's 26% rise. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 21, 2026 08:02 ET (13:02 GMT)

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