Lows

Key energy stocks suffered a rout again on Wall Street in the opening days of July, with Williams descending briefly below $5, Dynegy Inc. bouncing around under $7 a share, and analysts predicting that more of the same was ahead. One analyst said she feared the credit rating agencies’ constant downgrading of the creditworthiness of energy traders, which has pushed stocks to record depths, could end up shattering the companies completely.

After probing to new lows just after the opening bell, natural gas futures rebounded Monday morning as traders covered shorts initiated during the recent string of losses. However, no sooner had the February contract notched an impressive $2.35 high, than sellers were back at work, rescinding the morning’s advances. The prompt month spiraled lower into the close, finishing the day with a 0.3-cent decline at $2.272.

After flirting with new lows for much of the morning on Wednesday, natural gas futures made a break lower in the afternoon as traders continued their mass exodus of long positions on the news that the market was able to post yet another robust storage injection figure. The October contract limped off the board at $1.83, down 9.5 cents for the day and a whopping 56.3 cents less than where it was when it became the prompt contract a month ago.

After shuffling to new 16-month lows for the second session in a row Thursday, natural gas futures steadied in the afternoon as several large commercial accounts supported the market with their buying presence. The September contract finished at $2.811, down 3.7 cents for the session but almost a nickel higher than its $3.765 low.

Natural gas futures gapped lower at the open and never looked back Monday as traders digested the latest private and governmental weather forecasts that suggest that the Eastern U.S. will be spared of any extended period of hot weather through at least the next couple of weeks. The July contract took the selling pressure squarely on the chin, dropping 29.6 cents to a new 11-month low at $3.446.

After gapping lower at the open, natural gas futures turned higher Monday as non-commercial accounts covered shorts initiated in last week’s three-day, 64-cent price erosion. At the closing bell the May contract was 7.8 cents stronger for the session at $5.103.

Buoyed by technical bullishness, combined with strong buyinginterest in the summer months, natural gas futures moved higherWednesday as buyers focused their buying not only on the promptmonth but also on the bargain-priced summer strip. The Marchcontract finished at $6.235, its 47.1-cent gain narrowly surpassingthe 37.5 advance achieved by the April-October strip.

Since notching a $2.12 low during the first week of this year,the natural gas futures market has shown a propensity to look pastvirtually all bearish information and focus on anything out therethat is remotely bullish. Witness yesterday, when prices sank earlyon fizzled hurricane fears only to rebound fiercely as tradersrallied natural gas in sympathy with spiking crude oil prices.

After opening 3 cents above Thursday’s high trade, the newprompt month September moved higher in early trade Friday astechnical buying buoyed the contract near the confluence oftrendline and psychological resistance at $4.00. However, afterfailing to push through that level, traders were content to takeprofits ahead of the weekend. The July contract finished with justa 0.2-cent gain for the session at $3.845.