Digit

Expiring December natural gas futures posted a double-digit loss as traders elected to focus on an incoherent weather outlook and adjust positions as the deadline for December trading approached. At the close December had fallen 17.8 cents to $3.364 and January had skidded 14.0 cents to $3.525. January crude oil gained a stout $1.44 to $98.21/bbl.

December natural gas nearly notched a double-digit loss Wednesday as traders prepared for a government inventory report likely to show an inventory addition well above last year’s and the five-year average. At the close December had fallen 9.3 cents to $3.652 and January had skidded 9.4 cents to $3.749. December crude oil fell $1.06 to $95.74/bbl.

Cash quotes nationwide showed nearly double-digit gains on Thursday, but little strength was seen at Gulf Coast points. Western prices firmed based on strength at AECO and prices rose at eastern pipelines.

December natural gas suffered a bruising double-digit loss Tuesday in what observers noted was at least a temporary joining of hands with free-falling petroleum and Greece-centric equity markets. At the close December had fallen 15.3 cents to $3.781 and January had retreated 13.6 cents to $3.920. December crude oil dropped $1.00 to $92.19/bbl; the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 297 points to 11,658, and the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index shed a whopping 35 points to 1,218.

November natural gas posted a double-digit loss Tuesday as traders cited the relentless increase in production and lack of demand growth as continuing to thwart any price advance. At the end of the day November had fallen 13.5 cents to $3.553 and December had shed 11.5 cents to $3.788. November crude oil rose $1.96 to $88.34/bbl.

The number of double-digit gains increased Tuesday as a price advance across the board occurred for the second day in a row. Although weather conditions remain generally bearish for gas prices, especially with the Northeast growing even cooler, and tropical storm menaces to offshore production virtually ruled out for the rest of the season, at least the cash market could point to Monday’s 8.1-cent increase by October futures as impetus for maintaining its firming trend.

Prices shot higher by double-digit amounts nearly across the board Thursday as a palpable threat to Gulf of Mexico (GOM) production grew more intense, cash numbers had substantial support from the previous day’s 14.5-cent futures rise, and some regions such as the Midwest were heating up, although their contribution to cooling load was likely to be brief.

August natural gas suffered a double-digit loss Wednesday as a combination of front-month selling and spread trading combined to pummel futures. Traders are also anticipating the release of modestly bearish inventory figures from the government Thursday. At the close August had fallen 14.6 cents to $4.217 and September had given up 14.9 cents to $4.222. August crude oil slipped 24 cents to $96.65/bbl.

The double-digit advances that pervaded the market Monday were disappearing rapidly Tuesday except in the Northeast, where forecasts are getting hotter. Close-to-flat numbers were common outside the Northeast, and small losses were resurfacing in the price mix for the first time since one last Friday.