Natural gas spot prices strengthened on Monday, driven by gains in the Permian Basin and Western Lower 48, where dangerous heat is expected later this week. ExpandAt a Glance:Rockies rally in heavy trade volumeGulf Coast bracing for stormERCOT load could break recordsNGI’s Spot Gas National Avg. Baja, reflecting demand for Permian natural gas in the Desert Southwest and Southern California, rose 33.0 cents to $2.870 on Monday. He noted that “Dallas area high temperatures are moving up from last week’s lower values with near-record values expected this week,” while “Houston and the Coast Zone temperatures are near or above the 20-year mean values this week. The pending tropical storm potentially this weekend should dampen these values forecasted for then.”