Pleasantly

Wrapping up the pleasantly weak 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially came to an end Thursday, forecaster at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the seasonal activity was lower than everyone expected due to the rapid development of El Nino — a periodic warming of the ocean waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, which influences pressure and wind patterns across the tropical Atlantic.

The cash market had plenty of negative guidance in recording double-digit losses across the board Thursday. The pleasantly seasonable mid-spring conditions that dominate the current weather picture, a lengthy futures slide that continued Thursday, and the usual drop in industrial load that lowers weekend volumes all added to a powerful price depressant.

Natural gas bulls were pleasantly surprised Wednesday as futures prices were able to hold on to opening gains. After opening at $6.950 the April contract shot as high as $7.130 before selling appeared to knock the closing price down to $6.953, up a healthy $0.085 on the day. The May contract added $0.092 to end at $7.103, and May crude oil futures fell $0.57 to $61.77/bbl.