As new weather forecasts by Jacob Meisel, chief weather analyst at Bespoke Weather Services, hinted that the cold snap would linger a little longer than expected, natural gas prices rallied to their highest finish since December 2016 - with front-month Nymex futures closing +5.1% to $3.71/MBtu.
Another tailwind to prices was a report that natural gas storage in U.S. is at its lowest level to start the winter heating season in nearly 15 years, and also 16% below the five-year average.
With the potential for natural gas shortage at the end of the season, most companies like EQM Midstream Partners (EQM, $47.22), Range Resources (RRC, $17.70), Chesapeake Energy (CHK, 3.63) and Cabot Oil & Gas (COG, $25.61) were some of the top gainers in Friday's trading session, with gains ranging between 2% to 5%.