Acknowledged

After dropping 20 cents lower in Tuesday morning trade as traders acknowledged high interest in hedge selling by producers and other physical market longs, the December natural gas futures contract rallied in the afternoon to close virtually unchanged from Monday. The prompt-month contract ended up closing Tuesday’s regular session at $4.264, down seven-tenths of a penny from Monday.

The director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) Monday acknowledged the frustration of shallow-water drillers in the Gulf of Mexico as they face a slower permit approval process, but he said safety will not be compromised.

FERC Thursday approved several revised standards for business practices of interstate natural gas pipelines, which Commissioner Phillip Moeller acknowledged that while “maybe not glamorous are still essential to a safe and efficient pipeline operation.”

FERC Thursday approved several revised standards for business practices of interstate natural gas pipelines, which Commissioner Phillip Moeller acknowledged that while “maybe not glamorous are still essential to a safe and efficient pipeline operation.”

With a little extra push from the previous day’s prompt-month futures decline of 6.9 cents, the cash market finally acknowledged Wednesday that based on generally subpar cooling load in many areas, its moderate strength in the first two days of the week had largely been defying the law of price gravity.

August natural gas futures limped to a weak expiration as traders watched petroleum futures reel under a burdensome inventory report and acknowledged that Thursday’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) inventory report was likely to show additions greater than historical averages.

July natural gas futures posted a healthy gain Wednesday as traders acknowledged the likelihood that in spite of bearish fundamentals the market has put in a bottom and also observed new buying. July futures rose 12.4 cents to $4.253, and August gained 11.2 cents to $4.424. July crude oil added 56 cents to $71.03/bbl.

Despite modestly supportive prior-day futures, the cash market acknowledged the general bearishness of weather fundamentals in falling at nearly all points Tuesday. The remote threat Monday of an early-season tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico had pretty much disappeared a day later.

December natural gas futures registered a modest decline as traders acknowledged that the market was awaiting weather data that might show a continuation of the cold weather currently pummeling the East.