Devastating

Federal and company investigators Monday swarmed over the sceneof the devastating El Paso Natural Gas mainline explosion thaterupted near daybreak Saturday, engulfing a party of weekendcampers along the Pecos River near Carlsbad, NM, and killing 10people. Two other persons were hospitalized in critical condition.

Amid a devastating combination of weak cash prices andpost-storage-release selling, natural gas futures tunneled lowerWednesday afternoon in a long liquidation frenzy that caught morethan a few traders off guard. After checking to its highest levelin more than a month early in the trading session, the Aprilcontract picked up downward momentum throughout the afternoon tofinish the day at $5.384, or 23.7 cents lower, but 28.7 cents morethan where it was when it began its tenure as prompt month atNymex.

Amid a devastating combination of a forecast calling forwarming temperatures and technical weakness, the natural gasfutures market started the year with a crash Tuesday, as tradersliquidated their long positions en masse. The price impact was feltimmediately as February prices tumbled below $9.00 in overnightAccess trading Monday night.

Amid a devastating combination of rising temperatures andfalling cash prices the natural gas futures market started the yearwith a crash Tuesday, as commercial and speculative traders alikeliquidated their long positions and added to their shorts. Theprice impact was felt immediately, with the February contractgapping a whopping 10 cents lower en route to a 15.3-cent loss tosettle at $2.176. Despite the sizeable move lower, estimated volumewas a relatively modest 62,491.

Still reeling from a “devastating” weather picture the naturalgas futures market gapped lower on the open yesterday and continuedlower as traders added to short positions. By slipping 7.3 cents to$2.451 the December contract came perilously close to breakingthrough the lowest level of any spot contract since summer lowswere put in. The January contract, meanwhile, fared even worse,dropping 8.5 cents to finish at $2.596.

After being hit with a devastating combination of bearish newsFriday afternoon and Monday morning, traders at the New YorkMercantile Exchange had little choice when the market reopened. TheJuly contract took it on the chin, gapping lower on the open beforeposting a 7.1-cent decline to finish at $2.237. The August contractdid not fare any better, slipping 6.9 cents to $2.268. Estimatedvolume was solid with 78,116 contracts changing hands.