After dropping a dime in a knee-jerk reaction to slightly bearish storage data (42 Bcf injection) released at 10:30 a.m. EDT, natural gas futures chopped sideways for the rest of the session Thursday as traders groped for fair value in a market that has witnessed a 58-cent trading range since Oct. 1. As it turned out, nothing was settled, with about half the traders, brokers and analysts surveyed by NGI yesterday expecting higher prices Friday and half looking for more weakness. The November contract closed at $3.828, down 9 cents for the session and just above support at $3.795.
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Amid Triumvirate of Factors, Futures Rebound Strongly
After holding support following a knee-jerk downward reaction to the latest industry supply data, natural gas futures vaulted higher in two distinct buying surges. The first rally consisted of a move back above $3.30 that came on the heels of the 10:30 a.m EDT storage report. After a brief siesta, bulls were running Thursday afternoon, lifting prices convincingly higher into the close. October finished at $3.342, up 14.9 cents for the day and 24.2 cents above its early-session low.
Futures Move Decisively Above $3.00
Following a knee-jerk buying frenzy during Wednesday night’sAccess trading session, natural gas futures shuffled mostlysideways yesterday as traders continued to weigh the impact oftechnical factors and weather forecasts on the already inflatedprice level. Including Access, the November contract was up 8.6cents at $3.064 yesterday, 0.1 cent less than the opening price.