The futures market spiked higher in trading Thursday, adding togains posted Wednesday evening as traders pointed to a host ofbullish factors. A “startling storage report,” continuedshort-covering, and a increasing supportive technical picture wereall cited as reasons for the advance. That prompted both theOctober and November contract to 12.5-cent gains, settling at$1.958 and $2.207 respectively.

The October contract was fast out of the gate yesterday as fewtraders were willing to bet against a bullish American GasAssociation injection figure, which at 35 Bcf came in at about halfof what some were predicting. That enabled October to gap higher onthe open before rallying to a high of $1.98 early in the afternoonas market-shorts scrambled to cover positions.

A New Jersey analyst pointed to October’s ability to broach the40-day moving average in the $1.90-92 area on Thursday as bullish.Typically, funds and technical traders buy on a move above thataverage and sell on a move below it, he said.

Another source agreed and pointed to the double top at $2.075 asthe markets next upside objective. However, he remains cautious ofa potential whipsaw effect today noting the possibility traderswill look to take profit before the weekend.

In daily technicals, support exists at the bottom of theaforementioned chart gap at $1.85 with resistance at $2.00 and$2.075, a chartist advised.

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