In what was probably the most bullish 5-cent decline in recent memory, natural gas futures shuffled lower Thursday in a lackluster trading session. At the closing bell, May was 4.7 cents weaker at $5.101.

On the heels of the Wednesday’s bearish 64 Bcf storage injection and the appreciable sell-off that ensued, many traders contacted by NGI Thursday felt the market could probe for new lows beneath in the $4.87-92 level. Easier said than done. After opening just below Wednesday’s $5.148 close, sellers were unable to put together a sustained push to the downside. Citing the market’s inability to retest Wednesday’s $5.01 low, bulls claimed the day as a victory.

Looking ahead, Tom Saal of Miami-based Pioneer Futures believes the market could experience at least a slight rebound today, as traders cover shorts ahead of the weekend. If bulls are successful, the market will see resistance first at $5.14 and then again at the coincidence of the May’s 40-day moving average and Wednesday’s high in the $5.26-27 area.

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