The recent rally in natural-gas prices raised an alarm among consumers suffering from a cold snap in much of the U.S. this week — but when it comes to household spending on the heating fuel this winter season,

A wave of predictions that a polar vortex will make this January the coldest in years sent natural gas prices up this week, and experts say it could test supplies in the U.S. and Europe.

Natural-gas futures are tumbling following fresh forecasts that suggest January won't be quite as cold as traders believed late last month when

U.S. natural gas futures jumped to their biggest gain of the new year, as strong weather-driven demand is now seen extending well beyond mid-January. Freezing weather and snow storms across the U.S. could cause massive power outages and boost natural gas demand to its highest levels of the winter,

The US is bracing for a surge in natural gas demand as freezing weather and snowstorms threaten to cause widespread power outages, reported Reuters, citing energy analysts and reliability coordinators.