Consecutive

The New York Mercantile Exchange said last week that two seats on the Nymex Division set records in consecutive days. On Thursday, a seat sold for $3 million, surpassing the $2.85 million record sale set on September 27 (see Daily GPI, Sept. 28; Oct. 21) On Friday, a seat sold for $3.1 million, the most ever for a seat on any futures exchange. Ownership of a seat on the Nymex Division also represents a share of common stock in Nymex Holdings Inc. “It is a dynamic time for the exchange and its markets, and we have seen unprecedented growth in volumes as we have continued to meet the evolving risk management needs of the industry,” said Nymex President James E. Newsome.

For a second consecutive regular session, natural gas futures were bent on testing lower levels in the morning only to be rebuffed in the afternoon. Uncertainty swirling around the potential damage to oil and natural gas infrastructure combined with a stagnant shut-in report helped October natural gas settle 21.6 cents higher Tuesday at $12.656, one day before the contract’s expiration.

After breaking above the psychological $8 level for the fourth consecutive day, August natural gas futures on Friday followed the path laid out the three previous days. It sold off.

A sixth consecutive below-normal water year for the Pacific Northwest carries more financial than operating impact on the region and the greater Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) grid system covering 12 states, according to a “Hydro Update” report by Fitch Ratings released earlier this month.

Heading towards expiration at the end of trading Thursday, March natural gas futures continued to blaze a trail higher for the second consecutive session. The prompt month soared 20.8 cents to settle at $6.311, while April natural gas closed at $6.42, up 19.9 cents.

After settling below $6 on two consecutive sessions prior to the long holiday weekend, March natural gas futures on Tuesday spent the first half of the day getting back to $6 and the second half exploring higher, settling at $6.103, up 19.5 cents. The April natural gas contract trumped that, closing 23.4 cents higher at $6.221.

Striking lower for the third consecutive day, August natural gas futures on Friday came close to breaking through the psychological $6 mark, reaching a low of $6.07 on the day.

Marking it three consecutive days of double-digit price drops to end the week, the July natural gas futures contract on Friday declined 10.2 cents to settle at $6.261. While the prompt month was unable to threaten the $6 mark, it did reach a low on the day of $6.22, a level untouched since May 19.

Making it the second day in a row for double-digit gains, the Nymex May natural gas futures contract on Tuesday looked like it had no intention of exiting meekly when expiration rolls around Wednesday. As the prompt month successor, June also put on a strong performance, settling 9.9 cents up on the day to close at $5.97.