Managed

April natural gas futures managed an end-of-week rise Friday although short-term traders cited no change in market fundamentals and hinted that they were simply playing well defined trading ranges. Longer-term bulls point to a storage deficit, and bears contend that a decline in horizontal drilling will be necessary for the market to post a bottom.

March natural gas futures managed a modest gain Wednesday as other markets soared or sank in response to turbulence in oil-rich Libya and the greater Middle East. Analysts noted that the situation is far different than the recent upheaval in Egypt as Libya is a major exporter of crude oil and by most accounts the petroleum markets are going to have to factor in the loss of about 1.5 million b/d, as companies evacuate personnel from the country.

Futures continued to work lower Tuesday as weather forecasts softened and funds and managed accounts squared their books. Traders see a fall below $4 as virtually inevitable and expect continued weakness. At the close March futures fell 6.4 cents to $4.040 and April dropped 6.8 cents to $4.072. March crude oil shed 54 cents to $86.94/bbl.

December natural gas futures managed a small gain Monday as some traders attributed favorable weather forecasts to giving the market a modest lift. December futures rose 4.6 cents to $3.845 and January also added 4.6 cents to settle at $4.028. December crude oil eased 2 cents to $84.86/bbl.

Cold weather trends managed to sustain a substantive cash rally into a second straight day for the first time in more than a week Thursday. Even a 3.4-cent retreat by December futures a day earlier failed to keep prices from rising by double digits at most points again.

Just two days after Gov. Ed Rendell placed a moratorium on drilling on state forest land, Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced a new policy requiring well operators working on state park and forest land to identify all areas of their tracts that will be disturbed by development activities.

Several flat to about a nickel higher points in various regions managed to escape the overall moderate softness that enveloped the market Tuesday. The previous day’s half-penny advance by May futures did nothing to influence cash numbers, so the physical market finally had to acknowledge that advances in the past few days were made with essentially no support from weather fundamentals.

Several flat to about a nickel higher points in various regions managed to escape the overall moderate softness that enveloped the market Tuesday. The previous day’s half-penny advance by May futures did nothing to influence cash numbers, so the physical market finally had to acknowledge that advances in the past few days were made with essentially no support from weather fundamentals.

March natural gas futures managed to climb into the plus column Wednesday in its last trading day following four consecutive days of losses.