Natural-gas futures bounced back from big losses as colder forecasts for the beginning of February and lower prices encouraged buyers on Wednesday. The front-month February contract settled up 14.3 cents, or 5.1%, at $2.974 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gains broke a three-session losing streak that culminated with 9.5% losses on Tuesday alone, the biggest one-day losses by percentage since February 2014. While large, Wednesday’s gains were only the fourth-biggest in one day during the past month. The winter has been characterized by big swings in both directions as gas traders try to respond to shifting weather forecasts that impact demand. Half of U.S. homes use natural gas for heat, making winter cold typically the market’s biggest driver. Weather forecasts had flipped from colder than normal to warmer than normal over the weekend, leading to […]