Hurricanes

Natural gas futures retreated Monday in a move that was not completely unexpected given the quick pace at which prices rallied last week. With pressure from cooler weather outlooks and weaker power burns, the September Nymex natural gas futures contract settled 8.5 cents lower at $2.153. October fell 8.9 cents to $2.287. Cash prices, however,…

The upcoming Atlantic hurricane season is likely to be the fifth consecutive with above-average activity, producing 14-18 tropical storms, including seven to nine hurricanes, with two to four of them major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher), according to AccuWeather meteorologists.

A fading El Nino — warmer-than-normal water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean near the equator — signals an increased chance for more tropical storms in the Atlantic Basin this year, according to forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

October natural gas futures values plummeted on Monday after the three hurricanes on the radar Friday all chose a more northerly path over the weekend, sparing the Gulf Coast and U.S. energy interests yet again. Another theory is that the back and forth trading of the last week reflects the normal ebb and flow of a range-bound market. The prompt-month contract Monday reached a low of $3.806 before closing out the regular session at $3.822, down 20.2 cents from Friday’s finish.

With the peak season for Atlantic hurricanes upon us as the calendar flips to August, natural gas futures kept the momentum to the upside rolling on Friday as the September contract added 9.6 cents to $4.923. The contract closed the week 36 cents higher than the previous week.

Production growth from shale plays and the return of production that had been lost in last year’s hurricanes have been masking a decline in North American conventional natural gas production, but they may not be able to continue to cover those declines in the short term, according to ARC Financial Corp. chief energy economist Peter Tertzakian.

Production growth from shale plays and the return of production that had been lost in last year’s hurricanes have been masking a decline in North American conventional natural gas production, but they may not be able to continue to cover those declines in the short term, according to ARC Financial Corp. chief energy economist Peter Tertzakian.

Natural gas futures slipped lower for the third straight session Monday as the bullish triumvirate — hurricanes, inflation and short-covering — was no match for the continued and undeniable reality of a bearish supply picture. The September contract closed at $3.641, down 3.3 cents for the session and well off the $4.045 high notched just a week ago.

El Nino — the warming of surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific ocean, which can influence the formation of Atlantic hurricanes — has arrived, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Thursday.