Etching

After etching a 33-cent gain and propelling the market through key resistance Thursday, natural gas bulls cooled their heels Friday in a session that was more about position squaring ahead of the weekend than it was about market direction. At the closing bell the September contract was down 4.5 cents at $5.037. However, by closing above $5.00, the market ratified Thursday’s bull move, potentially setting the stage for more advances this week.

After etching out its daily range during the first 40 minutes of trading yesterday, the natural gas futures market moved mostly sideways, as traders played their cards very close to their vests. Not even a rally by its petroleum complex brethren could entice natural gas out of its funk, and as a result the market was left to check sideways for the remainder of the session. At $2.253, the November contract finished unchanged on its first day as prompt contract at Nymex. Meanwhile, the 12-month strip sifted lower 1.1 cents to $2.768.

After etching out a wide, half-dollar trading range last week,natural gas futures settled down appreciably Tuesday, as tradersremained largely on the sidelines ahead of the release of freshweather and storage news. Low estimated volume of just 46,818 was atestament to the quiet session.

After etching out its daily trading range during the first 45minutes Friday, natural gas futures limped lazily sideways for therest of the session, as traders elected to stay mostly on thesidelines ahead of the 4-day holiday weekend. The August contractfinished 5.3 cents stronger at $4.476 in a session that saw lessthan 40,000 contracts change hands.

After etching a new life of contract high at $3.025, the Maycontract was hit with a wave of selling yesterday that demoted itback down to settle at $2.971, even with Friday’s close. Volume wasweak with just 51,445 contracts changing hands.

After etching out a wide, 20-cent trading range Monday andTuesday, natural gas futures traded sideways yesterday in a rare,low volume and low volatility trading session. Little in the way offresh news was seen to nudge prices in either direction, leavingthe November contract to slip 2.9-cents to $2.978 in pre-AGA profittaking. Estimated volume was an extremely-light 53,060 contracts.

After etching a $2.66 low early yesterday, the futures marketmoved higher on continued speculative buying pressure and bullishconcerns over today’s release of fresh storage data. The Septembercontract finished at $2.708, up 0.8 cents on the day.

After etching what some feel could be the range for theremainder of the April contract’s life with Monday’s $1.69 low andTuesday’s $1.825 high, the market stayed pat Wednesday-tradinginside a tight 3-cent range. And while no fresh fundamental forceswere seen to usher the market in either direction, sourcesindentified a host of limiting technical factors in yesterday’sprice action. The April contract finished up 0.5 cents to $1.795.