Natural gas futures made it three in a row yesterday when acombination of commercial short covering and local buy-stop huntingboosted the contract to its highest level since last week. In doingso, the prompt contract was able to fill in a chart gap createdbetween Friday’s $2.283 low and Monday’s $2.26 high. July finishedat $2.295, up 3.1 on the day.

Traders were surprised by the market’s ability to move higher inthe face of neutral fundamental factors and bearish technicals. TheJuly contract has been in a reversal since notching a $2.48 high onJune 7. However, a California trader feels bulls can gleansomething positive from a market “that has made higher highs andhigher lows” each day since Monday.

“Relatively quiet,” is how Tom Saal of Miami-based PioneerFutures viewed trading on Thursday. However, he admitted thatactivity picked up once trade buying was able to poke through the$2.285 level. Looking ahead, Saal believes this market is verybalanced right now. “We might trend slightly higher or lower intoMonday’s expiration, but I do not expect the market will make amajor move until after July is off the board,” he said.

For what its worth, natural gas futures have posted gains eachof the last six Fridays.

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