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Front-month natural gas futures ended their four-day streak of higher finishes on Wednesday as expectations for a smallish storage draw in Thursday’s report trumped positive economic news. April natural gas futures dropped 1.8 cents on the day to close at $4.329.

April natural gas futures in its first regular session action as the front-month contract on Thursday digested the morning news that 101 Bcf was withdrawn from underground storage last week with little more than a blip on the charts. Prompt-month futures failed to drop below the psychological $4 price level and ended up closing at $4.077, up 4.8 cents from Wednesday’s close.

A stubborn cold front that has enveloped the Pacific Northwest sparked record natural gas and electricity sendouts for Bellevue, WA-based Puget Sound Energy (PSE) Tuesday, eclipsing a power demand marker that had stood for a decade, according to the combination utility. With forecasts for continued colder-than-normal temperatures in western Washington state, PSE was advising its customers to use power and gas wisely.

While Hurricane Ike began to pound the Texas coast Friday near Galveston and petroleum products and natural gas futures climbed on the day, front-month crude futures broke below the psychological $100/bbl mark for the first time in more than five months before settling higher as well. October natural gas futures finished the week at $7.366, up 11.8 cents from Thursday but 8.3 cents lower than the previous week’s close.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has labeled “factually inaccurate” a front page report in the Washington Post that said speculators account for about 81% of the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil contracts traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex).

Coaxed higher by strength in the petroleum futures markets, the front-month natural gas contract on Wednesday capped its stay below $8 at only two days by recording a high of $8.127 during the regular session before closing at $8.077, up 10.1 cents from Tuesday’s finish. Despite the 18.9-cent two-day gain, some market watchers still see lower prices ahead.

While Denali and TransCanada are the most notable Alaska gasline projects, there’s no clear front-runner at this stage of the game, the federal coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects said last Monday.

While Denali and TransCanada are the most notable Alaska gasline projects, there’s no clear front-runner at this stage of the game, the federal coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects said Monday.

BP plc CEO Tony Hayward recalls a time when energy policy was not front page news. Not any more, he said. Speaking to the World Petroleum Council in Madrid, Spain, Hayward attempted to dispel what he called “three myths” about energy.