Dived

Cash markets overall swan-dived an average 17 cents Friday as the usual suspects of an uninspired corps of weekend buyers joined forces with a mild weather outlook and a weak screen to send weekend and Monday gas sharply lower.

January natural gas swan-dived lower Friday as traders noted a continuing deterioration in both the fundamental and technical dimensions to the market. At the close January had fallen 14.0 cents to $3.317 and February had given up 13.3 cents to $3.353. January crude oil added $1.07 to $99.41/bbl.

December natural gas swan-dived Monday in moderate trading as traders note weather forecasts have turned less supportive than earlier, production continues to outstrip modest demand and buyers remain unmotivated. At the close December had fallen 12.6 cents to $3.458 and January had retreated 9.6 cents to $3.600. December crude oil dropped 85 cents to $98.14/bbl.

After prices nose-dived during September’s first three days oftrading, a number of traders thought they would never get back toindex levels during the month. Then after steady increases in theweek after Labor Day put quite a few points around or near indexesagain, there were those who said prices were likely to weaken butcertainly wouldn’t plunge to those early-September depths again.