Fresh off a 5-cent rally in Wednesday night’s Access session thefutures market bulldozed higher yesterday amid light speculativebuying. July finished its first day as the prompt month up 7.2cents to $2.282, after notching a $2.30 high early Thursdayafternoon. Estimated volume was heavy, with 85,664 contractschanging hands.
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June Ekes Out Measly 2.6-Cent Gain on Expiration Day
“Orderly” and “quiet” are not words that typically describe thenatural gas futures market-especially during hectic expiration-daytrading at Nymex. However, yesterday they were fitting descriptionsof a market that was only able to inch higher amid light commercialshort-covering. The June contract closed out its tenure as theprompt month with a 2.6-cent gain to settle at $2.226.
Weather, Storage Puts Bulls Back at Helm
After opening at or near lows for the day, the futures marketrallied higher Thursday, spurred by the confluence of bullishtechnical and fundamental factors. With a 9.1-cent advance, Junebroke through several key resistance levels before eventuallyfinishing at $2.282 for the day. Estimated volume was a healthy76,540.
Bears Show No Doubt in Extending Price Rout
Natural gas futures continued lower yesterday and were able tobreak through a key support level. The June contract finished 4.5cents lower at $2.191 after mapping out a $2.17 low for the day.
Technical Jockeying Buoys June Up 5.8 Cents
After touching the lowest level in almost two weeks earlyMonday, the June futures market was bid higher throughout the restof the session as traders took profits from last week’s sell-off.June finished up 5.8 cents for the day at $2.311, just off its$2.32 high.
Screen Gets Most Credit for Strong Swing Quotes
As the countdown to today’s May futures expiry continuedTuesday, swing cash prices certainly did their part to encouragethe bulls in Nymex’s trading pit. But in a form of reciprocatingsupport, sources said late-April price rises of about a dime inmost markets were based almost solely on screen upticks Monday andTuesday. Except for moderate air conditioning load in Texas and theSoutheast and a bit of lingering chill in the West, weatherfundamentals were almost non-existent, they said.
Futures Rebound Easily From Wednesday’s Dip
“It was like a bad dream,” was one marketer’s summation ofWednesday’s 4-cent decline that was quickly recouped by yesterday’s4.1-cent advance. Another trader was a little more specific,attributing the downward blip to funds rolling positions from Mayto June. But regardless of the rationale, Wednesday’s lowersettle-the first one in the last seven sessions-looked like theGrand Canyon nestled among the Alps.
Screen-Influenced Cash Increases Lowest in West
Though the May Henry Hub futures contract eventually settled fora small gain of less than a penny, it was the screen’s morningflirtation with the $2.15-17 area that got most of the credit for astrong performance Tuesday by the cash market. Cash rises tended tofade out going westward to virtually nothing in California trading,but virtually all eastern points were up at least a nickel and inmany cases saw increases approaching a dime.
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.
Futures Seek Fair Value on Either Side of $2.00
After opening at the pivotal $2.00 level yesterday the Maycontract was held to a tight, 3.5-cent trading range, as tradersseemed willing to sell the prompt contract on moves above $2.00 andbuy the market on moves below $2.00. And similar to the priceaction, yesterday’s close had something for everyone. Bulls foundsolace in the market’s ability to finish above $2.00, while bearswere optimistic following the market’s second-straight day oflosses. May slipped 1.7 cents to $2.013.