Natural gas futures pared their gains Tuesday as traders locked in their profits from the year’s best-performing commodity. Natural gas for February delivery fell 8.5 cents, or 1.9%, to $4.342 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural-gas prices have climbed from less than $3.50/mmBtu in early November, as continued cold weather has led to robust heating demand. About half of all U.S. households use natural gas as their primary heating source, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Natural-gas prices are up almost 30% year-to-date. The commodity is set to end the year with the biggest gains among the 22 commodities in the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index, which is down 9.3% for the year. “I think the key is […]