Jeremiah Shelor

Coming off big gains the previous two sessions, natural gas futures stalled Tuesday as a rally in the early morning hours quickly lost steam. The October Nymex contract settled at $2.580/MMBtu, off 0.5 cents after trading as high as $2.648. November also fell 0.5 cents to settle at $2.620.

The explosive growth of the Marcellus and Utica shales in recent years has crowded out natural gas flowing from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) toward traditional downstream destinations in markets that include the Midwest and Eastern Canada, but new developments could alter the competitive balance moving forward.

With another hefty weekly inventory build expected this week, and with analysts pointing to a possible end to the recent short-covering rally, natural gas futures declined at the front of the curve for a second straight session Wednesday. The October Nymex contract settled 2.8 cents lower at $2.552/MMBtu, while November dropped 3.1 cents to $2.589.

Additional heat in the forecast overnight helped push natural gas futures several cents higher in early trading Tuesday. The October Nymex contract was up 4.5 cents to $2.630/MMBtu shortly after 8:30 a.m. ET.

Warmer forecast trends over the weekend added fuel to the recent short-covering rally Monday as natural gas futures extended their run higher. The October Nymex futures contract surged 8.9 cents to settle at $2.585/MMBtu, while November picked up 7.4 cents to settle at $2.625.

Coming off big gains the previous two sessions, natural gas futures stalled Tuesday as a rally in the early morning hours quickly lost steam. The October Nymex contract settled at $2.580/MMBtu, off 0.5 cents after trading as high as $2.648. November also fell 0.5 cents to settle at $2.620.

A hotter-trending forecast over the weekend helped push natural gas futures higher in early trading Monday. The October Nymex futures contract had topped the $2.500/MMBtu mark as of around 8:30 a.m. ET, up 1.9 cents to $2.515.

The explosive growth of the Marcellus and Utica shales in recent years has crowded out natural gas flowing from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) toward traditional downstream destinations in markets that include the Midwest and Eastern Canada, but new developments could alter the competitive balance moving forward.

The natural gas futures market capped off a bullish week in fitting fashion Friday, rallying for the third time in four sessions to test the psychologically and technically significant boundary around $2.500/MMBtu. The October Nymex contract gained 6.1 cents to $2.496 after trading as high as $2.505, while November picked up 6.0 cents to $2.551.