Funneled

After surging to new, two-week highs last Wednesday, the natural gas futures market funneled lower Thursday and Friday as supportive weather forecasts were not enough to overcome the bearish force of a seemingly ample supply situation. After gapping lower 37.2 cents in overnight Access trading to open Friday at $11.570, the prompt month during the regular Friday trading session bounced within a fairly tight 26-cent range before settling at $11.414, down a whopping 52.8 cents for the day and 29.8 cents lower for the week.

In another delayed reaction to bearish storage data, the natural gas futures market funneled lower for the second straight Friday. However, in contrast to the sustained selling push exhibited on Oct. 17, the market dropped lower all at once Friday, as local traders triggered sell-stop-loss orders.

Amid yet another in a string of bearish storage refills, natural gas futures funneled lower Wednesday as commercial traders elected to take profits following a three-day, 75-cent price spike. Including yesterday’s 18.9-cent decline, the prompt contract has tumbled lower on nine of the last 10 Wednesdays for an average decline of 13.5 cents. July finished at $4.112 yesterday, near the bottom end of its $4.06-30 range on the day.

Pressured by another wave of follow-through selling, natural gas futures funneled lower for the second day in a row Wednesday, as traders grappled with negative technicals and continued to factor in a bearish storage report. A late rebound trimmed the day’s losses, leaving the prompt May contract with a 10-cent decline at $5.148.