Natural gas prices plunged to their lowest point in nearly three years as weather updates suggest this spring could bring some of the weakest demand in more than a decade. Prices for the front-month May contract declined 4.1 cents, or 1.6%, to $2.49 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Trading on the June contract surpassed May. May options expired at close and futures expire Tuesday. The June contract declined 5.4 cents, or 2.1%, to $2.514/mmBtu. May’s settlement is lowest since June 15, 2012. Prices were down more than five cents as soon as electronic trading began Sunday evening, but did pare some of those losses in the afternoon. A Sunday-evening plunge is often a sign that weather updates are the dominant factor in trading. Traders, especially those using automated computer systems, will often have immediate, strong reactions to weather updates when they come after […]