Bullish

While sizzling temperatures sometimes north of 100 degrees cooked much of the East for a third consecutive day on Wednesday, the bullish news seemed to be lost on natural gas futures traders as August futures retreated for much of the day.

The cash market shrugged off what normally would have been a bullish development — hurricane-related offshore shut-ins — and softened in Wednesday’s trading for the first day of July. Quotes were down anywhere from a little less than a nickel to about 30 cents.

Cash prices had continued to put up a brave front through Monday with modest firmness overall, but the bullish facade could not be maintained Tuesday. Instead, losses that were mostly measured in double digits reigned across the board as more prior-day futures softness, a downgrade of prospects for the season’s first named tropical storm entering the Gulf of Mexico and forecasts of small reductions of cooling load in several regions ganged up on the physical market.

Bullish prior-day screen teams with colder temps to keep upward pressure on market.

Energy analysts scouring the government’s monthly natural gas production and industrial gas demand statistics for bullish signs now see a tightening market based both on anecdotal evidence and the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) monthly report for December.

While cold weather of late has helped to turn one analyst a little more bullish on U.S. gas prices for this year, bearish factors — including still-robust supply following a plummeting rig count — have other analysts tweaking their 2010 price forecast downward.

While cold weather of late has helped to turn one analyst a little more bullish on U.S. gas prices for this year, bearish factors — including still-robust supply following a plummeting rig count — have other analysts tweaking their 2010 price forecast downward.

While volume declines are suppressing bullish talk, Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) thinks the industry may be poised to pull out of the bear market next year, and until then CEO Kelcy L. Warren doesn’t think there is much risk of shut-ins for his midstream business.

While volume declines are suppressing bullish talk, Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) thinks the industry may be poised to pull out of the bear market next year, and until then CEO Kelcy L. Warren doesn’t think there is much risk of shut-ins for his midstream business.