Briefly

Amid a steady stream of non-commercial selling, natural gasfutures tumbled lower yesterday morning, renewing fears that themarket may not have reached a bottom and further losses arepossible. Plunging to its lowest level in more than three months,the April contract took the selling on the chin yesterday, falling15.7 cents to close at $5.006. Volume at Nymex was healthy with anestimated 56,626 contracts changing hands.

If you briefly closed your eyes during a House hearing ondomestic energy policy last week, you would have thought you hadbeen transported back in time to the early 1990s. The cast ofcharacters — former Energy Secretary James D. Watkins and formerCongressman Phil Sharp — were the same, and the issues theyaddressed – opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)to drilling and lifting the offshore moratoria — rang a veryfamiliar tune.

If you closed your eyes only briefly yesterday during a Househearing on domestic energy policy, you could have sworn you movedback in time by a decade. The players — former Energy SecretaryJames D. Watkins and former Congressman Phil Sharp — were thesame, and the issues they addressed — opening up the ArcticNational Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to drilling and lifting theoffshore moratoria — were identical.

The cash market pulled out of its early-2000 slide at leastbriefly with a generally flat to slightly higher price performanceWednesday. However, sources found little but bearish indicators forthe near future.

After briefly testing resistance in the $2.00 area Wednesdaymorning, the futures market continued its journey lower as traderswere able to look past the short-term bullish impacts of coldweather and associated pipeline operational flow orders to focus onthe longer-term implications of storage and forecasts calling forwarmer weather. The February contract finished 4.4-cents lower at$1.931.

September debuted as the spot Nymex contract Thursday in afairly uneventful fashion, by first trading briefly higher, beforelight selling pushed the market down to settle at $1.906, a 2.7cent loss for the day. Traders continue to point to the currentdowntrend that “exerts its influence on this market at every turn,”as a reason for the move lower. “[Thursday] there was not muchimpetus to move higher or lower, but the mentality in this marketcontinues to be buy little dips and sell the rest of the time,” atrader offered.