Natural gas futures activity on Tuesday was muted as the November contract traded within a slim 20-cent range between $6.837 and $6.643 before closing the regular session at $6.727, up 3.9 cents from Monday’s finish.

Energy futures, which have been following financial developments as of late, had a twisty path to follow Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average once again had its ups and downs. After starting strong and reaching a high of 9,794 points, the Dow dropped to record a low of 9,085 before closing the day at 9,311, down 77 points from Monday. November crude worked lower throughout the day and finished back beneath the $80/bbl line. After starting Monday’s regular session at $83.85/bbl, the front-month contract wound its way lower, recording a low of $78.41/bbl before finishing at $78.63//bbl, down $2.56 from Monday.

“I am a bit perplexed as to how we are able to maintain current price levels in natural gas,” said Tom Saal of Commercial Brokerage Corp. in Miami. “It seems like the only fundamental that has had any correlation to natural gas recently is the economy, and most folks out there are calling for a real humdinger of a recession.”

However, Saal did admit that there exists the bullish combination of the seasonal tendency for natural gas to rally at the advent of winter and the fact that natural gas is the cheapest of the energies right now. “If it weren’t for the economic woes, we might be a lot higher,” he argued.

Despite all of the financial turmoil of the last few weeks, some market watchers say they believe natural gas futures are once again range-bound, much like they recently were between $7 and $8.

According to Jim Ritterbusch of Ritterbusch and Associates, “a challenge of the past week’s November contract high at the $7 area appears out of reach unless petroleum stats [to be released Thursday because of the Columbus Day holiday] or Thursday’s [natural gas] storage figures post some big surprises.” He added that the natural gas market “appears content to consolidate further within about the $6.50 to $7 zone, and we continue to feel that a breakout of these parameters is more apt to develop on the downside rather than on the up.”

Others also see a range. “I don’t think this market is going much above $7, and I don’t think it’s going much below $6.25, so I think it’s stuck in a 75-cent range for the next couple of weeks,” said a New York floor trader.

While none of the systems were expected to threaten U.S. energy interests, the arrival of three tropical systems in the Atlantic served as a healthy reminder that there are still six weeks remaining in the hurricane season. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported Tuesday afternoon that Tropical Storm Omar was located south-southwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, while Tropical Depression Nana was disappearing west of the Cape Verde Islands. According to the government forecasting service, the third storm — Tropical Depression 16 — was approximately 40 miles north of Cabo Gracias a Dios on the Nicaragua border with Honduras.

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