After spiking as much as 7 cents higher in the Wednesday eveningAccess session, the new prompt month was the focus of muchconjecture and speculation. Would June continue higher, followingthe example set by May, or fall from its already lofty perch? Formany, it is still too early to tell, but if yesterday’s priceaction was any indication, June will have a difficult time matchingMay’s 50-cent price increase over the past month. After opening at$2.40, the June contract tumbled throughout the session to close at$2.339, a 0.2-cent decline from Wednesday’s close.
Evening
Articles from Evening
Futures Manage Minor Gains in Choppy Trade
Adding to gains achieved in the Monday evening Access tradingsession, the May contract continued higher yesterday morning asbulls confidently bolstered their long positions. However, recentgains notched by natural gas have not come without a fight andTuesday was no different. After topping out at $2.17, the promptmonth reversed direction in the afternoon, nearly erasing itsadvance by the close. May finished at $2.136, up 0.8 cents on theday.
Transportation Notes
NOVA restored its 16-inch Josephine Lateral in northwest Albertato service Saturday evening following a rupture caused bythird-party construction. The outage was isolated to a 7-kilometersection of the NPS 16 Josephine Lateral Loop about 30 kilometersnorth of Saddle Hills Compressor Station, NOVA said. The pipelinechanged its daily system imbalance tolerance to -2/+18% due to lowlinepack Saturday morning.
Follow-Through Buying Leads Way for Futures
Adding to gains achieved during the Wednesday evening Accesstrading session, the futures market picked up momentum yesterdayamid moderate short-covering activity. The February contractfinished up 6.5 cents to $1.892 and in doing so not only settled inthe top half of its daily range, but also near the important $1.91resistance level.
AGA ‘Surprise’ Lifts Market in Evening Trading
Fueled by Tuesday afternoon advances, the November contractraced out to a strong start on Wednesday. But the rally becameshort-lived when it met with a wall of selling in the mid-teens,leaving the market to finish lower at the closing bell. TheNovember contract settled at $2.041, a 4.3 cent decline for theday.
Fundamentals and Technicals Agree: Futures Higher
The futures market spiked higher in trading Thursday, adding togains posted Wednesday evening as traders pointed to a host ofbullish factors. A “startling storage report,” continuedshort-covering, and a increasing supportive technical picture wereall cited as reasons for the advance. That prompted both theOctober and November contract to 12.5-cent gains, settling at$1.958 and $2.207 respectively.
Market Takes Back Gains; Resumes Downtrend
All indications pointed to the futures market continuing higheron Wednesday: gains posted in the Tuesday evening Access session, awell bid over the counter market Wednesday morning, and inertiacoming off two days of advances. But when the market openedyesterday a vital component was missing, prompting a beleagueredbull to say “the buyers just didn’t show up [Wednesday] morning.”The September contract meandered down from its open, slipping 2.2cents to close at $2.873.
Transportation Notes
Nautilus Pipeline offshore southeast Louisiana reported havingto shut down Sunday evening until further notice due to a largeslug of liquids being handled at the slug catcher. Nautilus toldshippers Monday they were released to flow to other systems “forthe next seven to 10 days.” Inquiries about the line’s recentvolumes were not answered Tuesday.