Bell

For the second straight session, natural gas futures gapped lower at the opening bell. But in contrast to Monday’s session-long price retreat, the market rebounded Tuesday, pumping life into bulls who are suffering through some mild winter temperatures. The January contract finished at $6.143, down 18.1 cents for the session, but more than 20 cents above its low for the day.

Rescinding gains made shortly after the opening bell, the natural gas futures market was sent lower Thursday morning by traders unimpressed with government estimates suggesting that 134 Bcf was pulled from storage last week. However, after bottoming out at $6.75 shortly before 11 a.m. EST, the January 2004 contract — boosted by supportive weather and cash prices — mounted a sustained rally that resulting in its second-highest-ever settlement price. It closed at $7.122, up 12.9 cents for the session.

Some observers were expecting a mountainous move in natural gas futures Tuesday as Alan Greenspan told Congress that the nation has a long-term gas supply problem. What they got instead was a minuscule 1.6-cent hiccup from a market that had digested the news long ago. July futures ended the day at $6.330 with a high of $6.355 and a low of $6.23. August also gained 1.6 cents to $6.42, and September added 2 cents to $6.424.

After gapping higher at the opening bell and quickly filling in a gap from the daily bar chart, natural gas futures shifted lower Wednesday as traders positioned themselves ahead of what could be another bearish storage report this morning. Although the price direction was down most of the day Wednesday, the absence of strong selling allowed the market to escape the session with a modest gain. February finished at $5.161, up 3.4 cents for the day. Volume was moderate, with an estimated 86,303 contracts changing hands.

After spiking to a new 15-month high shortly after the opening bell, natural gas futures cascaded lower throughout the session Tuesday as traders took profits on forecasts showing Hurricane Lili may not be as “well-organized” a storm as once thought. Plumbing down to the psychologically important $4.00 level near the close, the November contract was hit hardest by the selling. It finished at $4.067, down 7.1 cents for the session.

After gapping higher at the opening bell, natural gas futures extended to new four-month highs Wednesday as traders grappled with the possibility that Tropical Storm Isidore, which was upgraded from Tropical Depression 10 Tuesday night, would intensify on its path toward the Gulf of Mexico. The buying was seen in two distinct waves. The first surge culminated with a $3.85 high yesterday morning. After a brief sell-off, bulls were at it again in the afternoon. Light profit-taking trimmed the market’s gains and left the October contract 6.3 cents off its high for the session. However, at $3.787 the prompt month was 10.8 cents higher for the day.

After probing to new lows just after the opening bell, natural gas futures rebounded Monday morning as traders covered shorts initiated during the recent string of losses. However, no sooner had the February contract notched an impressive $2.35 high, than sellers were back at work, rescinding the morning’s advances. The prompt month spiraled lower into the close, finishing the day with a 0.3-cent decline at $2.272.

For the second session in a row, natural gas prices gapped lower at the opening bell Tuesday, as mounting apprehension over today’s storage report convinced traders to lighten their long exposures a little more. But in stark contrast to Monday when prices continued lower throughout the session, gas prices rebounded slightly in the afternoon, filling in the earlier chart gap. The June contract closed at $4.641, down 5.4 cents for the day.

After gapping lower on the opening bell, natural gas futuressifted lower Friday as traders continued the sell-off that begantwo and a half weeks ago. With Friday’s $4.541 settlement, theNovember contract concluded its tenure as prompt month on adecidedly negative note, down 12.3 cents on the day and $1.24 offits Oct. 12 high-water mark.