Losses

The cash market saw a mix of gains and losses Thursday despite a supportive 22.5-cent increase in near-month natural gas futures the day before. Even with the additional 13.8-cent futures gain on Thursday, cash points nationwide on Friday still might not be able to follow.

Several factors point to natural gas prices of around $11-12/MMBtu or more through the summer, but if there are no large hurricane production losses, the surge in onshore gas production in the storage surplus “could be visible for all to see” by late September, said an energy analyst.

Several factors point to natural gas prices of around $11-12/MMBtu or more through the summer, but if there are no large hurricane production losses, the surge in onshore gas production in the storage surplus “could be visible for all to see” by late September, said an energy analyst.

After capturing back some of their recent losses in Monday morning trading, June natural gas futures plunged lower in the afternoon, sinking below psychological support at $11 to close out Monday’s regular session at $10.954, down 14 cents from Friday’s close.

Pummeled by a prior-day futures plunge and losing both heating and cooling load, cash prices recorded losses at all points Wednesday.

Only three scattered points failed to see March-ending prices continue to advance Friday, and their losses were small at 2-5 cents. The rest of the market remained on an upward track as cold weather stubbornly refused to leave northern market areas, and chilly conditions were slated to return in the eastern South. The weekend decline of industrial load apparently had little impact on pricing.

The market recorded double-digit losses across the board Monday as above-normal temperatures in many areas greatly reduced the strong heating load that had kept most points rising through Wednesday of last week. Cash numbers also had highly negative guidance from Friday’s 33.4-cent dive by March futures.

The market was almost evenly divided between mostly small gains and losses Tuesday but leaning slightly to the downside — even more so if one gives extra weight to the huge declines in the Rockies that took quotes as low as 40 cents and left a couple of points averaging less than a dollar. Much of the U.S. is in a transition period from unusual recent heat to temperatures more befitting the approach of mid-October.

Losses of up to a dime at several scattered points, primarily in Appalachia and the Gulf Coast, kept price advances from running the board Monday. Predictions of above-normal temperatures this week in the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. and buzz about the possibility of a disturbance moving toward southern Florida from the Bahamas strengthening and getting into the Gulf of Mexico were the chief market boosters.