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After shifting higher and lower in the first 30 minutes of trading Wednesday, natural gas futures were nearly unchanged at the close following the announcement that 112 Bcf was pulled from underground storage facilities last week. March settled at $2.385, down 1.2 cents for the day, but still well-within striking distance of its 6-week high notched yesterday at $2.43.

One might have thought much of North America was under a blizzard watch, judging from strong post-holiday gains Tuesday in the cash market and an even stronger screen performance. Instead, traders apparently were looking beyond this week’s continuing mundane weather fundamentals to new forecasts of something the market hasn’t seen a whole lot during this heating season: a seriously bad blast of winter next week.

In a typical display of its ability to shrug off undeniably bullish information, natural gas futures turned lower Wednesday afternoon following the announcement that a whopping 156 Bcf was pulled from underground storage facilities last week. After surpassing its Jan. 17 high of $2.38 to reach a new 5-week high at $2.41, the March contract plummeted 16.5 cents in 25 minutes to finish at $2.245, down 6 cents for the session.

FERC needs to take a second look at a recent order in which the federal agency modified its previously instituted West-wide price mitigation methodology for electricity during the winter months, the California Electricity Oversight Board (CEOB) told the Commission last Thursday. The CEOB, among other things, worries that the move could have the unintended consequence of stoking anti-competitive market behavior.

As Senate Republicans look for ways to bring the issue of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) drilling up for a vote, Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) issued a letter-report from the General Accounting Office (GAO) that finds that any attempt to drill in the national wildlife refuge system for reasons other than drainage would fly in the face of a 35-year-old policy prohibiting such activity.

As Senate Republicans look for ways to bring the issue of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) drilling up for a vote, Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) has issued a letter-report from the General Accounting Office (GAO) that finds that any attempt to drill in the national wildlife refuge system for reasons other than drainage would fly in the face of a 35-year-old policy prohibiting such activity.

Boosted by scaled-down buying support, the natural gas futures market rebounded from lows notched Monday morning. However, that buying was muted by a continued negative technical and fundamental outlook, and as a result the market finished in negative territory for the day. The November contract experienced the largest trading range Monday, as the prompt month rebounded to a $2.41 high after dipping down to $2.33 earlier in the session. It closed with a 5.2-cent loss to $2.378. By comparison, the rest of the winter strip was hit harder, led by December, which tumbled 6.5 cents to $2.66.

Following Monday’s 9% price drop, natural gas futures were held to an extremely-tight, nine-cent price range yesterday as traders elected to wait for fresh fundamental data to be released Wednesday. Unable to push to fresh lows or highs, the October contract notched an inside day on the daily chart yesterday, closing 1.5 cents stronger at $1.925.

Price caps are “much like steroids — they make you look good in the short term, but they kill you in the long run,” warned Rep. J.C. Watts of Oklahoma and chairman of the House Republican Conference during the Natural Gas Roundtable last week.