Figure

Following the EIA’s slightly bearish storage report of a 76 Bcf build for the week ended May 7, the June natural gas futures contract plummeted 14.5 cents from the pre-storage release level of $6.47 to trade at $6.325 as of 11:10 a.m., leaving many market observers wondering how much further futures would fall.

Following the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) announcement of a 28 Bcf build for the week ending April 16, the Nymex May natural gas futures contract immediately probed lower, reaching $5.55 just before 11 a.m. EDT, before rebounding higher to close the session at $5.623, up 4.1 cents on the day.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee expects the financial failure of Enron Corp. to figure into the debate over energy legislation, which could get underway in the Senate next month, if Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) keeps his earlier promise to make energy a priority in the new congressional session (See Daily GPI, Dec. 6, 2001). As a result, it has scheduled an oversight hearing for next Tuesday to delve into the Enron affair.

Buoyed by a larger-than-expected 137 Bcf storage withdrawal figure, natural gas futures probed the upside Wednesday afternoon as traders continued to shy away from the short side of the market. After working its way lower throughout most of the morning, February turned higher just before noon EST when it became apparent that sellers would not be able to keep prices below the $2.30 level. The prompt month finished the session in an undeniably bullish manner, carving out a new two-week high and closing 10.3 cents stronger on the day at $2.394.

Andrew Fastow, the 39-year-old former CFO for Enron Corp. who has become a central figure in the company’s dubious off-balance sheet transactions and earnings discrepancies that precipitated a stunning bankruptcy in six weeks time, held a telecast press conference from his attorney’s office in New York City, to quell rumors that he was “missing in action.” However, Fastow was there in body only, with his high-powered attorney, David Boies, doing most of the talking.

Buoyed by a much smaller-than-expected storage injection figure, natural gas futures spiked dramatically higher in the last 30 minutes of trading Wednesday as traders covered shorts initiated during the long and slow decline over the past nine and a half months. The November contract experienced a blitzkrieg of buying just after 2 p.m. EDT and prices reacted instantaneously, rocketing 32 cents in just in just two minutes and notching a fresh two-month high at $3.00. November finished just off that level at $2.981, up a cool 30 cents for the session.

Buoyed by the release of a second-straight smaller-than-expected storage injection figure, natural gas futures climbed back from negative territory yesterday afternoon to notch a new three-week high, as weak shorts scrambled to cover their positions. The November contract finished at $2.48, up 9.2 cents for the session, but off slightly from the $2.54 high notched about 10 minutes earlier.

Propelled by a smaller-than-expected storage injection figure and fueled by concerns over a tropical depression in the eastern Caribbean Sea, natural gas futures jumped to a new two-week high Thursday as holders of recently established short positions headed for the exits. That short-covering was enough to boost the November contract to a $2.47 high en route to its $2.414 close, a 9.4-cent advance for the session.

The market eked out small increases Tuesday that generally were a nickel or less. A screen uptick of nearly a dime provided some upward momentum, sources said, but cash traders more likely were anticipating what is expected to be the smallest AGA storage injection report in many weeks.