Expiry

After dipping to new two-week lows following the announcement that 95 Bcf was pulled from storage inventories the week prior, natural gas futures turned higher late Friday morning and managed to claw back above unchanged on the day. With that the January 2003 contract expired at $4.988, up 2.6 cents for the day and about 70 cents above where it began its tenure as Nymex prompt contract back in late November.

Capping a tumultuous tenure as prompt month, the October contract went out with bang Thursday as two distinct waves of buying were more than sellers could handle. After ratcheting higher throughout the late morning following the news that 67 Bcf worth of gas was injected into storage last week, the prompt month dove lower in the afternoon. But just when it looked as if October would drop below the critical $3.50 mark, market-on-close buyers stepped in. That support, combined with an absence of willing sellers, sent prices through the roof in the last 30 minutes of trading. October settled at $3.686, up 19.2 cents for the session and 26.6 cents above where it was when it took over as prompt contract at Nymex a month ago.

With prices spiking on Monday and then crashing lower Tuesday and Wednesday, this week has been a microcosm of the frenetic trading activity of the past four months, leaving traders yearning for the holiday weekend and the calming effect they hope will come with the shoulder months of September and October. After gapping lower at the opening bell Wednesday, the September contract cascaded lower throughout the session to finish at $3.288, down 19.5 cents for the session, but up 39.8 cents over the course of its month-long tenure as prompt contract. For an expiration day, volume in the gas pit was light, with an estimated 126,596 contracts changing hands.

Following a topsy-turvy span of trading in which prices fell Thursday as quickly as they rose Wednesday, natural gas futures sputtered sideways to slightly higher Friday as traders gently covered shorts ahead of the weekend and the Monday expiration of the August contract. August closed 3.4 cents higher at $2.936. For the second day in a row, volume in the gas pit was heavy with an estimated 171,719 contracts changing hands.

Following a topsy-turvy span of trading in which prices fell Thursday as quickly as they rose Wednesday, natural gas futures sputtered sideways to slightly higher Friday as traders gently covered shorts ahead of the weekend and the Monday expiration of the August contract. August closed 3.4 cents higher at $2.936. For the second day in a row, volume in the gas pit was heavy with an estimated 171,719 contracts changing hands.

Despite forecasts calling for moderating temperatures both over the weekend and this week, natural gas futures shuffled higher Friday as speculators and options traders covered short positions. The November contract received the biggest boost at Nymex, rising 10.3 cents to $3.041. In doing so, November notched its first $3.00-plus close since Aug. 23.

Punctuated by a 5-cent free-fall in the last five minutes of trading, natural gas futures slumped lower yesterday as traders priced yet-to-be-released storage data — guilty of being bearish, until proven innocent — into the market. With that the September contract concluded its penultimate trading day with a 12.9-cent loss to close at $2.415.

Surpassing most expectations yet again, the weekly storage injection figure announced yesterday by the American Gas Association sent natural gas futures spiraling lower late in the session yesterday, pressing the expiring contract to fresh 13-month lows. With that selling pressure, July went off the board at $3.182, down 21.5 cents for the session and 62.8 cents below where it was when it began its tenure as prompt month on May 29.

May’s tenure as prompt month in the natural gas pit has not gone all that well for the bulls. Although there have been good days when prices ratcheted higher, most of the month has been a downer as prices tumbled from the $5.74 high — notched on April’s expiration day — down to beneath the $5.00 level Wednesday. It was only fitting that the May contract continued to slump on its expiration day Thursday. At the closing bell, the May contract limped off the board at $4.891, down 9 cents for the day and a whopping 84.9 cents off its March 28 high.