Ahead

July natural gas futures rose sharply on a combination of technical buying ahead of the long weekend and algorithmic traders utilizing buy stop orders to limit losses. At the close July had advanced 15.8 cents to $4.518 and August had risen 15.2 cents to $4.557.

June natural gas futures declined Thursday as traders digested an inventory report about in line with expectations but well ahead of last year’s injections. A subsequent release of a government hurricane forecast did little for the bullish cause either, and prices settled at the low end of the day’s trading range.

The Piceance Basin of Colorado has long been a natural gas producer, but recent results in the Niobrara Shale indicate that the best days may be ahead, Bentek Energy LLC said in a new report.

The Piceance Basin of Colorado has long been a natural gas producer, but recent results in the Niobrara Shale indicate that the best days may be ahead, Bentek Energy LLC said in a new report.

Ahead of the first quarter earnings reports by the biggest of the Big Oil companies, the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Monday offered evidence that those oil and natural gas company profits are generating big benefits for public pension funds.

May natural gas futures posted a stout double-digit gain Thursday ahead of an extended holiday weekend as traders reacted to a government inventory report showing storage gas to be somewhat less than anticipated. At the close May had advanced 10.2 cents to $4.412 and June gained 10.9 cents to $4.466. June crude oil continued its winning ways, posting a gain of 84 cents to $112.29/bbl.

Ahead of a midnight deadline Friday to comment on the Delaware River Basin Commission’s (DRBC) draft water quality amendments, those for and against the proposed changes attempted to make their voices heard by delivering thousands of responses to the commissioners.

Consol Energy announced Wednesday that its plans to drill 70 wells in the Marcellus Shale play by the end of the year were slightly ahead of schedule, thanks to the 13 horizontal wells it drilled during 1Q2011.

With new financial reform rules from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) still looming ahead, trading exchange heavyweights IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) and CME Group Inc. this month posted strong fourth quarter and full-year earnings. ICE’s 4Q2010 revenues increased by 11% from 4Q2009 to $285 million, while CME Group recorded a 14% increase to $763 million.