Bulls

Natural gas bulls shouldn’t pin their hopes on a hurricane-inspired rally given the abundance of gas in storage and the diminished relevance of offshore natural gas supplies to the North American market, an analyst said Thursday.

After the rally stalled on Monday as traders instead tested downside support, natural gas futures bulls on Tuesday once again pressed the upside, scoring a 14.7-cent gain to close the day’s regular session at $4.449. Commodities on the whole showed impressive strength with June crude futures picking up 35 cents to close at $58.85/bbl.

After tacking on 17-plus cents to the front-month contract on Friday, natural gas futures bulls did so again on Monday, but some market watchers are not yet ready to classify the gains as a change in market direction. June futures on Monday added 17.9 cents to close out the regular session at $3.725.

Natural gas futures bulls finally received some sorely needed support Thursday morning after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that a slightly larger than expected 30 Bcf withdrawal from natural gas storage was recorded for the week ended March 13. April natural gas futures shot nearly 75 cents higher immediately following the report’s release before closing out the regular session at $4.174, up 49 cents from Wednesday’s close.

Natural gas futures bulls received some unexpected support on Thursday morning after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that a larger-than-expected 112 Bcf was withdrawn from underground storage for the week ending March 6. With the bullish storage draw and a significant burst of supportive strength coming from the crude futures arena, April natural gas futures broke back above $4 in afternoon trading before closing the day’s regular session at $3.995, up 19.7 cents from Wednesday’s finish.

Natural gas futures bulls were dealt another blow Thursday morning as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that only 159 Bcf was withdrawn for the week ended Feb. 6. Immediately following the report, the March natural gas contract scouted lower prices and ended up closing at $4.485, down 4.7 cents from Wednesday’s finish.

ConocoPhillips’ top boss offered no good news to North America’s natural gas bulls — or to the global economy — last week.

ConocoPhillips’ top boss offered no good news to North America’s natural gas bulls — or to the global economy — on Wednesday.

Bulls hoping for a home run storage withdrawal for the week ended Jan. 9 were sorely disappointed Thursday morning as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that only 94 Bcf was withdrawn despite chilly temperatures last week. February natural gas futures, which Wednesday broke below $5 for the first time since Sept. 2006, spiraled even lower following the 10:30 a.m. EST report’s release. The contract ended up closing at $4.843, down 12.7 cents from Wednesday’s finish.