Crashed

Natural gas futures values crashed down to last week’s price levels following news Thursday morning from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) that a larger-than-expected 31 Bcf storage build occurred during the week ending April 2.

Natural gas futures values crashed down to last week’s price levels following news Thursday morning from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) that a larger-than-expected 31 Bcf storage build occurred during the week ending April 2.

June natural gas futures crashed hard to finish the week, which casts doubt on the impetus behind the rally of the last two weeks. Some traders said the swift retreat shows that the rally was less driven by fundamentals and more fund-driven, which calls into question the reports during the week of the sizeable open interest position held by the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG). Front-month natural gas closed at $4.098 on Friday, down 19.4 cents from Thursday and 21.3 cents lower than the previous week’s finish.

“Where’s the weather?” That question must have been on a good many traders’ minds Friday as prices crashed and burned at almost all points. Besides moderate conditions dominating the weather picture almost everywhere, the cash market was negatively influenced by Thursday’s 24.7-cent screen drop and the loss of industrial load that accompanies a weekend market.

Natural gas futures crashed lower for a third consecutive session Wednesday amid rumors that a large commodity trading firm was rapidly exiting its positions. August natural gas traded as low as $11.920 before closing out the day’s regular session at $12.006, down 36.2 cents from Tuesday’s finish.

After settling above the key $8 level on Thursday, June natural gas futures on Friday managed to put in an impressive $8.230 high, but ultimately crashed lower to close out the week at $7.944, down 13.1 cents on the day. However, the close was 4.5 cents higher than the previous Friday’s close, confirming that the market is in fact inching higher.

Ever since Enron crashed and a wave of related negative events came down on the gas industry, there have been concerns about the health and even the fate of the gas spot market. But trying to take the spot market’s pulse isn’t easy. In fact to do it with any accuracy is darn near impossible, according to several market experts.

Ever since Enron crashed and a wave of related negative events came down on the gas industry, there have been concerns about the health and even the fate of the gas spot market. But trying to take the spot market’s pulse isn’t easy. In fact to do it with any accuracy is darn near impossible, according to several market experts.