Natural gas futures soared to a more than 2 1/2 year high on Wednesday as a deep freeze stretching across the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. boosted demand for the heating fuel. Natural gas for February delivery rose 25.8 cents, or 5.8%, to $4.689 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange and reached its highest settlement since June 10, 2011. Nymex natural gas posted its largest one-day dollar gain in about 19 months and has added 36.3 cents, or 8.4% over the past two sessions. The gains came as weather forecasters, including MDA Weather Services, a Gaithersburg, Md., company, projected “a prolonged period of intense cold […]