Bill Burson

Physical gas for Tuesday delivery traded higher Monday as a broad cold front was forecast to work its way east and by mid-week send temperatures 10 or more degrees below normal.

May natural gas is expected to open a penny lower Friday morning at $4.64 as traders consolidate gains from Thursday and expect a typical soft end-of-week trading in the physical market. Overnight oil markets were mixed.

Natural gas for physical delivery over the weekend and Monday worked lower in trading Friday as weather-driven declines in the East and Northeast were able to offset broader market strength in the Midcontinent, Rockies and Great Lakes.

Traders and marketers can breathe something of a sigh of relief that the mind-bending volatility of the winter is past, but market bulls were treated to the first storage report of the newly-minted injection season.

Physical gas for Friday delivery all along the Eastern Seaboard fell by double digits in Thursday’s trading, but the resounding declines were offset by more modest losses elsewhere as well as gains in Rockies, San Juan and Permian basin delivery points.

May natural gas is set to open 4 cents higher Wednesday morning at $4.57 as traders weigh issues with natural gas storage builds. Overnight oil markets rose.

Physical natural gas for Thursday delivery overall moved little in Wednesday’s trading. Market strength in the Gulf, Rockies and California was easily able to balance out the double-digit losses at New England points, while Mid-Atlantic locations softened and Appalachia was mixed.

Gas for delivery Wednesday overall added a few pennies as futures continued a second straight day of advances and longer-term weather forecasts called for some uncharacteristic coolness.

Physical gas for Tuesday delivery posted a modest advance of a few pennies, but the day's greatest individual gains were seen in California as well as in producing regions that feed the southern California market. Gains overall were widespread, in part mirroring the strong futures, and only a small minority fell into the loss column. At the close of futures trading May had risen 3.7 cents to $4.476 and June had gained 3.5 cents to $4.502. May crude oil fell 70 cents to $100.44/bbl.