Gain

Expect to see more joint ventures or acquisitions involving Marcellus Shale properties, with both domestic and foreign companies vying to gain a stake in what currently is the most attractive U.S. gas shale play.

Trading within a 10-cent range in a quiet Friday session, September natural gas futures on Friday eked out a 3.2-cent gain to close at $4.328, but some market watchers were quick to note that the market remains hopelessly range-bound. The week’s close was 13.9 cents below the previous week’s finish.

Most locations saw small price increases Thursday based on a gain of nearly a dime by futures a day earlier and forecasts of high, though slightly receding, temperatures in much of the U.S.

Summing up the ongoing bout of range-bound trading activity in the span of 48 hours, August natural gas futures virtually erased Tuesday’s gain of 8 cents with Wednesday’s decline of 7.7 cents as the prompt-month contract closed out Wednesday’s regular session at $4.513.

Looking to gain a more thorough picture of what goes on in the electronically traded futures markets, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has proposed a rule that would allow the government organization to collect on a weekly basis certain ownership, control and other information for all trading accounts active on U.S. futures exchanges and other reporting entities.

Looking to gain a more thorough picture of what goes on in the electronically traded futures markets, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has proposed a rule that would allow the government organization to collect on a weekly basis certain ownership, control and other information for all trading accounts active on U.S. futures exchanges and other reporting entities.

Backed by bullish news and Thursday’s 26.6-cent gain, July natural gas futures on Friday reached a high of $4.977 before backing down a tad on profit-taking ahead of the weekend to close at $4.797, up 10.7 cents from Thursday’s close and 45.6 cents higher than the previous week’s finish.

Post-holiday heat forecasts and futures gain prove sufficient to rally most of the cash market.

Bullish prior-day screen teams with colder temps to keep upward pressure on market.