The U.S. benchmark natural gas price jumped more than 5% on Monday as power generators are expected to burn more gas to keep air conditioners going that are just now starting to come online in the lower half of the Eastern United States. As of 3:34 p.m. ET on Monday, the price of natural gas at Henry Hub was up by 4.96 percent at $3.108/ MMBtu. At the start of trading, the price was at $2.961/ MMBtu. The June Nymex contract was up $.154 from the prior settlement at $3.115/ MMBtu. Natural gas prices saw their biggest daily percentage gain since the Texas Freeze earlier in the day when prices rose more than 5%. The price hike is largely attributed to the beginnings of summer cooling demand season in the lower half of the United States, with warmer weather expected to arrive later this week and into next week. […]