Eased

June natural gas futures eased, although a major contingent — funds and managed accounts — now appears to be aligned on the long side of the market and technical support remains intact. At the close June futures had fallen 2.3 cents to $4.670 and July was lower by 2.5 cents to $4.738. June crude oil cascaded lower giving up $2.47 to $111.05/bbl.

May natural gas was again confined to a narrow 6-cent trading range and eased slightly in options-dominated trading Tuesday.

March natural gas futures eased Tuesday as traders elected to discount both supportive weather reports and sharply higher oil prices caused by strife in North Africa and the Middle East. March fell 0.9 cent to $3.867 and April added 0.1 cent to $3.907. March crude oil bounded higher $7.37 to $93.57/bbl.

June natural gas futures eased slightly in an apparently lackluster trading session, but those watching the more deferred contracts swoon sensed a significant change in the market that may lead to lower prices.

May natural gas futures eased in busy trading Tuesday as traders sensed an overextended market and an end to upward price momentum. Traders were looking for a close above $10.650 as an indicator that the upward trend in prices was still intact. May futures, however, fell 12.6 cents to $10.607, and June lost 11.1 cents to $10.763.

Natural gas futures eased slightly in Tuesday’s trading as market bulls were unable to sustain their buying enthusiasm and traders noted an abrupt intraday tumble. Trade and commercial accounts may now be willing to lock in favorable prices. April natural gas futures fell 2.4 cents to $10 and May dropped 1.1 cents to $10.064. Crude oil continued to rampage higher, trading as high as $109.05 before settling at $108.75, a record.

Cash market pricing points were down almost across the board on Wednesday as temperatures moderated and demand eased. The biggest drops for a second consecutive day were recorded in the Northeast, despite calls for more snowfall overnight.

After gaining 12.9 cents on Tuesday, June natural gas futures gave virtually all of it back on Wednesday as the prompt month eased its way closer to a test of the important $6 support level. On the day, the June contract settled at $6.129, down 12.3 cents from Tuesday

By the weekend, warmer temperatures eased concerns among the Pacific Northwest utilities hit by record demand and thousands of outages in the wake of a freezing Arctic storm that drove through the region at the beginning of the week. In the eastern portion of the state of Washington, a spokesperson for Avista Utilities said Friday the weather was “beautiful,” and the area had avoided the potential fall-out from freezing rain that can ice up power lines causing them to sag or come down from the extra weight as happened in the western portion of the state and Oregon.