It was a case of dueling catalysts in the natural gas market today, as a day ahead Henry Hub cash prices skyrocketed over $4 early this morning pulling the April gas contract higher but weekend HDD losses prevented any gains from holding. In the end, the April contract settled just about flat on the day. 

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The largest losses were with summer gas, as winter gas was firmer on the day. 

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Very strong cash prices have pulled the April/May spread to flat. 

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Exploding day ahead prices today returned to levels that have not been seen since December. 

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In our Morning Update we warned that "cash should remain quite strong" but maintained a "Neutral" sentiment as saw recent GWDD losses canceling that out. The coldest days are in the short-term, as we noted, which would limit the extent to which futures would react to cash. 

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This verified quite well, as gas prices reversed lower through the day and the Climate Prediction Center picked up on these more pronounced warm risks in the medium and long-range.