After a hectic trading week that saw the June contract tradewithin a choppy, 15-cent range, traders tiptoed through Friday’snatural gas session. A late rally and retreat right before theclose of trading was the only real excitement in an otherwisefeatureless trading landscape. The June contract finished at$2.288, up 0.6 cents for the day and 1.5 cents for the week.
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Speculative Sell-off Tests Bulls Resolve
Follow-through on the heels of Monday’s Nymex strength gave bulltraders an optimistic outlook early yesterday. However, theireuphoria was short-lived when a combination of fund and localselling pushed the market down near stubborn support at $2.205.June trimmed its losses into the close, finishing 6.6 cents lowerat $2.236.
Bulls vs. Bears; Call it a Tie Wednesday
After rallying more than 15 cent from last weeks lows, naturalgas futures took a breather Wednesday, trading sideways within atight 4.5-cent range. The June contract settled unchanged for theday at $2.359.
After Breaking Resistance; Bulls Take Profits, Market Lower
Technical analysis was originated by Charles Dow in the late1800s as an attempt to interpret recurring historical pricemovements displayed by a group of stocks, which have since evolvedinto today’s Dow Jones Industrial Average. He would have been proudof the natural gas futures market last week. For four days the Maycontract ebbed and flowed within a 10-cent trading range until itbroke higher Friday in a technical buying spree. But as if it werefollowing the same script rehearsed during the prior two tradingdays, the May contract couldn’t hold onto its gains Friday,releasing them in the form of profit taking ahead of the weekend.The May contract capped the week with a 2.7-cent advance to $2.096after notching a $2.15 high.
Small Gain Puts Bulls Back at Helm
Feeding off strength from Tuesday’s Access session gains, theMay contract was fast out of the chute Wednesday, quickly notchinga $2.08 shortly before noon. But for the fourth time in the lastfive trading days, resistance at the $2.07-09 level held andprofit-taking in the form of selling became the theme of theafternoon. The May contract finished at $2.024, just 1.1 cents morethan Tuesday’s close.
Bulls, Bears Call it a Tie on Expiration Day
Expiration day in the natural gas pit had a little something foreveryone Monday. While bears were greeted yesterday morning by alower open that paved the way for declines to the $1.80 level,aggressive afternoon buying put a smile on bull-traders’ faces asit led the April contract back above Friday’s best levels. But whenall the dust had settled and the final settlement price was handeddown from the data room at Nymex, neither bull nor bear could claimthe see-saw battle as a victory or a defeat. April finished downjust 0.2 cents at $1.852 and the May contract echoed that sentimentclosing 0.2 cents lower to $1.883.
Bulls Make it Two in a Row with Another Small Victory
Fresh after receiving a boost from a hefty storage withdrawalWednesday afternoon, natural gas futures continued higher yesterdayin yet another tumultuous trading session. And for the second dayin a row locals were seen as the catalyst, using buy stops toorchestrate a gap higher opening. But overhead resistance at $1.77held and the market was left to ebb and flow within the 4-centtrading range, which was set in the first hour of trading. TheApril contract finished up 3.9 cents to $1.762.
Balanced Bears, Bulls Stuck on Price See-Saw
Natural gas prices continued in their march of monotonyyesterday, as neither buyers nor sellers were able to tip the scalein their favor. Flatness ruled as a result, with many pricinglocations unchanged.
Small Futures Gains Prompt Bulls to Come Forward
Despite much-above- normal temperatures across much of the U.S.,natural gas squeezed out small gains at the New York MercantileExchange yesterday in a mostly dull trading session. Throughoutmost of the day the March contract looked as if it would closeunchanged, but a late rally put a positive spin on the day’sevents, nudging the prompt month 2 cents higher to finish at$1.838. Estimated volume, registering a measly 37,697 contracts,confirmed the sluggish nature of the market.
No Expiration Day Heroics for Beleaguered Bulls
Natural gas futures at the New York Mercantile Exchange haveconsistently featured choppy trading, high daily volatility, andprice erosion for the last several months. And expiration dayTuesday was no different as traders tested both sides of a largetrading range before depositing the January contract 2.3 centslower to its final resting place at $1.765. And in doing so, theJanuary contract tumbled over a half dollar during its reign as theprompt month.