Advertised

The climax of a three-day “Stop the Frack Attack” anti-hydraulic fracturing (fracking) rally in Washington, DC, on Saturday had been advertised by its organizers as an event that would bring “thousands of people from across the U.S. and around the globe” to protest the practice.

What was forecast to be a week of above-normal temperatures throughout most of the U.S. began Monday with warming trends in some areas as advertised, but not enough heat to keep prices from continuing to fall at most points. Friday’s 21.8-cent slide by July futures also had bearish implications for Monday’s cash market.

Anticipated colder weather arrived on schedule as advertised over the weekend and, coupled with Friday’s gain of a little more than a quarter in natural gas futures and the return of industrial load from its usual weekend hiatus, was able to generate double-digit price gains at nearly all points Monday.

Following on the heels of yet another early morning Accesstrading buying surge, natural gas futures pressed higher againMonday as short-term weather forecasts corroborated medium rangeoutlooks that last week called for an invasion of Arctic air notseen in the United States in several years.