Morning

BP plc’s latest attempt to collect some of the oil leaking from its crippled Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) was showing promise Friday morning, but it was too early to say whether the effort will be a success, the company said.

Natural gas supply is still well outpacing demand as evidenced by Thursday morning’s news that a whopping 87 Bcf was injected into underground storage for the week ending April 9. The larger-than-expected build thrust near-month natural gas futures values back below $4.

Natural gas supply is still well outpacing demand as evidenced by Thursday morning’s news that a whopping 87 Bcf was injected into underground storage for the week ending April 9. The larger-than-expected build thrust near-month natural gas futures values back below $4.

After dipping below $4 in anticipation of a bearish natural gas storage injection in Thursday morning’s report for the week ending March 19, confirmation that 11 Bcf was injected last week — two weeks earlier than normal — dropped April natural gas futures even lower before the contract closed at $3.981, down 12.4 cents from Wednesday’s close.

After dipping below $4 in anticipation of a bearish natural gas storage injection in Thursday morning’s report for the week ending March 19, confirmation that 11 Bcf was injected last week — two weeks earlier than normal — dropped April natural gas futures even lower before the contract closed at $3.981, down 12.4 cents from Wednesday’s close.

The bears’ case for lower prices in the natural gas futures market received a much-needed shot in the arm Thursday morning after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that a well-below-consensus 11 Bcf was withdrawn from natural gas storage for the week ending March 12. The draw, which was exactly 100 Bcf smaller than the previous week’s report, plunged April natural gas futures values to a low of $4.054 before the contract finished Thursday’s regular session at $4.085, down 21.8 cents from Wednesday’s close.

Although The Weather Channel’s website headline said “Spring has sprung” Thursday morning, it will not officially be true until Saturday. But the continuation of spring-like weather in most of the U.S. was able to ensure that cash market softness would endure. Of course, the previous day’s second consecutive fall of 4.4 cents by April futures was another bearish influence.

The bears’ case for lower prices in the natural gas futures market received a much-needed shot in the arm Thursday morning after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that a well-below-consensus 11 Bcf was withdrawn from natural gas storage for the week ending March 12. The draw, which was exactly 100 Bcf smaller than the previous week’s report, plunged April natural gas futures values to a low of $4.054 before the contract finished Thursday’s regular session at $4.085, down 21.8 cents from Wednesday’s close.

Although The Weather Channel’s website headline said “Spring has sprung” Thursday morning, it will not officially be true until Saturday. But the continuation of spring-like weather in most of the U.S. was able to ensure that cash market softness would endure. Of course, the previous day’s second consecutive fall of 4.4 cents by April futures was another bearish influence.