Amid

Natural gas futures suffered their first major setback in five trading sessions Tuesday as commercial and local traders took profits in concert with weakness in the nearby crude oil pit. In contrast to Monday’s session, which climbed nearly a dime in the last 30 minutes of trading, Tuesday’s natural gas trading session saw losses ahead of the close as traders liquidated positions in preparation for the September expiry Wednesday. The prompt month completed its penultimate trading session at $3.483, down 13.4 cents on the day.

Despite overbought conditions and a market that many felt could go no higher, natural gas futures defied gravity yet again Monday, as bulls rebounded strongly from a lackluster morning sell-off. With that the September contract achieved a new three-and-a-half-month high, gaining 13 cents to close at $3.617. Estimated volume was light to moderate at 93,696.

Amid muddled fundamentals and a rapidly improving technical situation, natural gas futures reversed direction Wednesday as local traders used Tuesday’s retracement as a springboard to new eight-week highs. A 10.8-cent gain in the September contract was trumped by an 11.3-cent rise in the October contract. The two months, which constitute the end of the seven-month summer strip and storage injection season, finished at $3.274 and $3.339 respectively. The only non-bullish factor Wednesday was estimated volume, which at 95,733 was a little on the low side.

As sources had correctly predicted, the market took its price cues Tuesday from the previous afternoon’s screen gain instead of continuing general weakness in fundamentals. The result was double-digit increases between about a dime and a little more than 20 cents at most points. The notable contrary position was in the Rockies, where flat to moderately lower numbers prevailed.

Despite an early dip and a temperature reprieve forecasted by the National Weather Service (NWS), natural gas futures stayed hot Monday, as traders continued to cover shorts following last week’s 14% rally. Saving their best for last, bulls were most active at the close Monday, as they pushed the September contract an additional 4% higher on the day to $3.267, a 11.8-cent gain for the session. Estimated volume was heavy with 105,487 contracts changing hands.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) believes Dynegy Inc. has violated antifraud and federal securities laws through its involvement in the so-called “Project Alpha” natural gas deal and its round-trip trading activity with CMS Energy. On top of that, Dynegy said bankruptcy may be in its future if its sale of Northern Natural Gas Co. to MidAmerican does not move forward.

For the third time in as many trading sessions, natural gas futures sifted lower throughout much of the session after posting a strong opening print. However, while trading sessions on Friday and Monday finished with a late rally, Tuesday’s trading action saw little or no bounce, prompting bears to eye the downside and bulls to turn in their horns. The August contract finished at $2.889, down 5.8 cents for the session and just several ticks off its $2.885 low on the day.

For the third time in as many trading sessions, natural gas futures sifted lower throughout much of the session after posting a strong opening print. However, while trading sessions on Friday and Monday finished with a late rally, Tuesday’s trading action saw little or no bounce, prompting bears to eye the downside and bulls to turn in their horns. The August contract finished at $2.889, down 5.8 cents for the session and just several ticks off its $2.885 low on the day.

With few fresh fundamental factors in which to sink their teeth, natural gas traders battled back and forth Friday, producing a wide 15-cent trading range. But despite the spirited session, the August contract finished with an unremarkable 0.1-cent decline and $2.933 settle, leaving plenty of questions still to be answered when trading resumes Monday. At 93,495, estimated volume was moderate to heavy for a Friday in July.