Jeremiah Shelor

Natural gas futures bulls tried and failed to keep the recent rally going Tuesday, with prices easing lower as traders weighed late-season heat against an upcoming slate of potentially plump storage injections. The October Nymex contract settled 1.3 cents lower at $2.668/MMBtu after trading as high as $2.710 and as low as $2.628. November settled at $2.700, down 2.5 cents.

After rallying to start the week, natural gas futures prices gave up ground for a second consecutive session Wednesday as the market looked ahead to what was expected to be a near-average weekly inventory report. The October Nymex futures contract settled 3.1 cents lower at $2.637/MMBtu after trading as high as $2.696 and as low as $2.603. November settled at $2.665, down 3.5 cents.

With a broadly warmer than normal September pattern continuing to lend support, natural gas futures were trading close to even early Tuesday. The October Nymex contract was up 1.4 cents to $2.695/MMBtu shortly after 8:30 a.m. ET.

As traders factored in warmer forecast changes against a backdrop of broader energy market volatility following a major attack in Saudi Arabia over the weekend, natural gas futures climbed several cents Monday. The October Nymex contract settled 6.7 cents higher at $2.681/MMBtu, while November climbed 7.2 cents to $2.725.

Natural gas futures bulls tried and failed to keep the recent rally going Tuesday, with prices easing lower as traders weighed late-season heat against an upcoming slate of potentially plump storage injections. The October Nymex contract settled 1.3 cents lower at $2.668/MMBtu after trading as high as $2.710 and as low as $2.628. November settled at $2.700, down 2.5 cents.

Notable warm trends from weather guidance over the weekend helped push natural gas futures prices several cents higher in early trading Monday. The October Nymex contract was up 6.6 cents to $2.680/MMBtu shortly after 8:30 a.m. ET.

It was probably something other than superstition that had bears fleeing the natural gas futures market Friday even as analysts continued to point to oversupply conditions. The October Nymex contract rallied 4.0 cents to settle at $2.614/MMBtu. November surged 4.8 cents to $2.653.

A major attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure over the weekend rocked crude prices, sounding an alarm that markets may have previously discounted the extent of geopolitical risks to supply, according to analysts.

As traders factored in warmer forecast changes against a backdrop of broader energy market volatility following a major attack in Saudi Arabia over the weekend, natural gas futures climbed several cents Monday. The October Nymex contract settled 6.7 cents higher at $2.681/MMBtu, while November climbed 7.2 cents to $2.725.