Clawed

In what may turn out to be the most bullish 2-cent decline in recent memory, natural gas futures clawed their way back from early losses to finish near a high for the session. At $4.642, the October contract ended 1.9 cents lower on the day, but an impressive 9.2 cents above the $4.55 low notched early in the session. At 88,496, estimated volume was heavy and added credence to the rebound.

Rebounding from a post-AGA sell off, natural gas futures clawed higher late yesterday as traders failed to demote prices beneath support at $4.05 for the second day in a row. At the closing bell, June futures were a penny lower for the session at $4.113. Estimated volume was relatively light considering the price action as only 66,491 contracts changed hands.

After a lower open, natural gas futures clawed higher Tuesday astraders looked past falling physical prices to side withconstructive long-lead weather outlooks and bullish storageexpectations. The February contract gained 13 cents to close at$9.819, but the real news of the day was buying in the out-months,which enabled the 12-month strip to advance 18.1 cents to close at$6.63.

Ending a two-day, 24-cent price slide, natural gas futuresclawed higher yesterday as traders covered shorts ahead of theweekly American Gas Association storage report. However, thatbuying interest came to a sudden halt mid-afternoon Wednesday whenthe National Weather Service issued another bearish weather report.Prices quickly tumbled lower into closing bell, trimming profitsfrom more than a nickel to 1.5 cents before settling at $2.657.

After briefly testing the downside early Friday, January futuresclawed their way higher and briefly broached the $2.00 level in theafternoon. But a late selloff ensued, which chased prices back downto settle at $1.978, a 1.9 cent gain for the day. Estimated volumewas 72,807.