Natural Gas Finishes Up 4.7% as Risk Returns

1458 ET – Natural gas prices close the day 4.7% higher at $2.238/mmBtu in a market that seems to be riding the coattails of surging crude-oil prices and improved risk appetite after a strong US jobs report Friday. The natural gas market finds itself in the middle of the weakest point of the bearishly weak spring season, when there’s little heating or cooling demand to soak up inventories, and few to no powerful storms that could knock out production. That, say analysts, has left investors to simply focus on energy commodities overall, which have been enjoying a rebound in recent days as recession fears fade slightly for now. (dan.molinski@wsj.com)