Aided

The cash market gained on average 13 cents Wednesday, aided by a strong futures market and stout gains posted at Western and Gulf points. Alleviation of restrictions prompted a 50 cent-plus jump at a key Marcellus point. At the close of futures trading June had added 11.8 cents to $2.618 and July had risen by 11.9 cents to $2.687. June crude oil continued its descent, losing $1.17 to $92.81/bbl.

By 2030, natural gas will have become the second-largest global energy source — ahead of coal — aided by technologies that have unlocked enormous new supplies of gas from shale, tight formations and coalbed methane, ExxonMobil Corp. said Thursday.

Aided by moderate screen weakness the prior day, cash point averages on Thursday for Friday delivery came off a couple of pennies at a majority of locations with one point apiece in the Northeast, Texas, Rockies and the West shedding a dime while Dawn in the Midwest dropped 20 cents.

Aided by continuing cold and Thursday morning’s storage report expectations, with an assist from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s announcement of an ambitious reform of onshore drilling (see related story), February natural gas futures on Wednesday shot to a high of $6.034 before closing the regular session at $6.009, up 37.2 cents from Tuesday’s finish.

Aided by a developing storm system in the tropics, July natural gas futures pushed higher for much of Friday’s regular session. The expiring contract touched the psychological $4 level just prior to going off the board at $3.949, up 10.5 cents from Thursday’s finish but 8.3 cents lower than the previous week’s close. The August contract gained 11.6 cents to $4.105 on Friday.

Maintaining the momentum from the final two days of trading last week, natural gas futures on Monday — aided by strength in equities and petroleum futures — continued higher despite the lack of direct bullish fundamentals. The April contract climbed 6.7 cents to close at $4.294.

Countering the combined 43.8-cent gain from trading on Tuesday and Wednesday, December natural gas futures — aided by a slightly bearish 46 Bcf storage injection report — gave back 34.7 cents on Thursday to close at $6.431. December crude futures also dropped $1.54 to finish at $65.96/bbl on the day.

Aided by prior-day futures weakness, cash points on Thursday continued the week’s trend of back and forth by recording drops across the country. While most regions saw decreases of 20 to 45 cents, some eastern delivery points dropped on Thursday by over 60 cents.

After dropping 47.8 cents last week, the May natural gas futures contract almost made it all back on Monday as traders — aided by strength in crude prices — pushed the prompt-month 46.9 cents higher to close at $9.791.