Defy

It didn’t make sense to a number of sources, but there it was: prices going up Tuesday everywhere except at Northeast citygates even as generally weak fundamentals continued to get even weaker. Not counting the Northeast, quotes rose by a nickel to about 20 cents across the board.

Natural gas prices continued to defy gravity Tuesday, as traders added to their long positions in the hope that cold weather outlooks will be validated next week by plummeting mercury readings. The bulls did not have it easy, however, as they were forced to battle back from an early foray into negative territory on the day. Buy stops helped their cause, as prices began to rebound and by noon EST, bulls had notched a fresh one-week high at $2.87. The December contract closed just off that level at $2.852, up 6.1 cents for the session.

For the most part, a bearish trend in the fading December swingmarket once again held sway Thursday. With the continuing exceptionof rises at some Northeast citygates, most points registered pricedrops between about a dime and 50 cents. California, Sumas andTransco Zone 6 (non-NYC) led the way with triple-digit declines.

Despite the desperate need for natural gas currently, long-haulpipeline construction is headed for a temporary lull over the nextfive years, according to Thomas Howard, director of strategicproducts at PIRA Energy Group, a New York City-based energyconsulting firm.

Despite the desperate need for natural gas currently, long-haulpipeline construction is headed for a temporary lull over the nextfive years, according to Thomas Howard, director of strategicproducts at PIRA Energy Group, a New York City-based energyconsulting firm.

For nearly all points, the late-November swing price softeningthat had begun Monday upon emergence from the holiday weekendcontinued at a much accelerated pace Tuesday. The conspicuousexceptions? The same ones that have dazzled the rest of the marketsince Thanksgiving week began with numbers well over $10:California and the Pacific Northwest points where Canadian gas istraded (Sumas, Stanfield and Kingsgate).

Overall, the weekend market behaved predictably after thescreen’s big plunge Thursday, dropping between 15 and 35 cents atmost points Friday. But it was a much different story in Californiaand the Pacific Northwest, where prices rose sharply in hugelyvolatile trading. The Southern California border was “screaming,”said a trader reporting deals ranging from the $8.10s to more than$12.

Natural gas futures continued to defy gravity Friday when a laterally nullified losses achieved earlier in the session. Afterposting an early low of $4.395, September rumbled higher to closeat $4.475 and in doing so, posted a gain for the ninth straightsession. Estimated volume was extremely light, with only 37,841contracts changing hands.

Led by heavy buying interest in winter months, natural gasfutures continued to defy gravity yesterday as traders bid themarket up for the seventh straight session. June finished up 5.2cents at $3.448, but the real story was the Nov-Mar. strip, whichnotched an impressive 7.3-cent gain to close at $3.613.