U.S. natural gas futures rose this week as colder weather with snow came into parts of the country. Although substantially lower than Asian or European gas prices, U.S. January futures for natural gas rose by 1.7 percent earlier today, to $4.127 per million British thermal units, according to Bloomberg . A day earlier, the contract gained 8.8 percent in the steepest one-day rise since October, again because of the weather forecast. The Wall Street Journal recalls the Monday jump in prices followed four weeks of declines. According to the Weather Prediction Center, the winter will bring heavy snowfall, freezing temperatures, and strong winds to the northern and western parts of the United States. For early January, the forecast is for more cold weather that may even affect natural gas production, according to NatGasWeather . The forecaster reported freeze-offs were likely in the first week of January in parts of […]