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The first week of 2006 came to a close with the cash market continuing to display more resilience than would seem to be warranted in a period of unusually mild weather and following a storage report that shocked many by estimating a highly unusual small injection for the end of December and sent the screen to its third big loss in a row.

Bolstered by forecasts for renewed heat along with a serious display of strength from petroleum futures, September natural gas futures on Friday continued to explore the upside in search of resistance, coming close to venturing above the psychological $8 level.

In an effort to display its storage rate design flexibility, FERC granted Saltville Gas Storage in Virginia rehearing Thursday on its novel cost-based rates, and awarded a certificate to the Pine Prairie storage project in Evangeline Parish, LA, with authorization to charge market-based rates.

In an effort to display its storage rate design flexibility, FERC granted Saltville Gas Storage in Virginia rehearing Thursday on its novel cost-based rates, and awarded a certificate to the Pine Prairie storage project in Evangeline Parish, LA, with authorization to charge market-based rates.

In an effort to display its storage rate design flexibility, FERC granted Saltville Gas Storage in Virginia rehearing Thursday on its novel cost-based rates, and awarded a certificate to the Pine Prairie storage project in Evangeline Parish, LA, with authorization to charge market-based rates.

Coming out of the extended July Fourth weekend with a bang, natural gas futures hit the ground running in Tuesday morning trading. The August contract rallied from the opening bell, sending bears into hibernation for fear of being trampled by bulls, who were on a roll.

In yet another display of resistance to moving lower, the natural gas futures market bent but did not break Thursday morning as another triple-digit storage injection (100 Bcf) put bulls on the defensive. They battled back, however, and armed with weather reports calling for snow in Michigan and a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico, were successful in repelling the selling surge.

In a textbook display of just how large an impact the weekly Energy Information Administration (EIA) gas inventory report can have on the market, natural gas prices plummeted Thursday moments after the EIA said that a hefty 111 Bcf was added to underground storage facilities last week. After a quick dip lower at 10:30 a.m. EDT, sellers took a moment to catch their breath, but bulls could not muster much of a rally. Bears made use of their second wind to punish prices lower again Thursday afternoon. The August contract finished at $5.258, down 26.2 cents for the session.

In another stunning display of bullish behavior, natural gas futures climbed higher for the third-straight session Friday as traders distanced themselves from bearish supply data released Thursday and focused on an updated forecast for the upcoming hurricane season.