Probing

After probing lower values in early morning Monday trade, the October contract broke the recent cycle by rebounding higher during regular session hours as storm activity in the Atlantic continued to increase. The prompt-month contract ended up testing resistance at $4 with a $3.975 high before closing out the day at $3.938, up 5.5 cents from Friday’s finish.

Probing below well identified support at $8.200 in Wednesday morning trade triggered an energetic round of buying in September natural gas futures that lasted well into the afternoon. The front-month contract peaked at $8.736 just after 1 p.m. EDT before sliding to close at $8.456, which was still good for a 12.6-cent gain from Tuesday’s regular session finish.

After beginning Monday’s trading by probing lower price levels down at $7.600, the March natural gas futures contract staged a surprise rally around noon EST, peaking at $7.990 before settling the day’s regular session at $7.869, up 12.9 cents from Friday’s close.

After taking a mid-week breather to test the upside, near-month natural gas futures on Friday were back to the recent routine of probing support at $7. January natural gas futures closed out the week at $7.025, down 16.8 cents from Thursday and 13 cents lower than the previous week’s finish.

A House Government Reform subcommittee is probing why oil and natural gas leases negotiated between the Interior Department and producers in 1998 and 1999 did not include price thresholds — a move that the panel estimates could cost the federal government as much as $7 billion in royalties on production from the Outer Continental Shelf.

December natural gas futures opened lower Tuesday, immediately probing the downside, but rebounded after failing to test the overnight Access low at $4.585. It bounced up to a high of $4.790 at 11 a.m. EST before relaxing and then trading sideways the rest of the day. The near-month contract managed a 2.2-cent daily gain, ending the session at $4.727. The January contract slipped 0.6 cents to $4.977, February added 0.4 cents to close at $4.982, and March slid 0.1 cents to $4.887.

After probing perilously close to a technical cliff at the $4.55 level Tuesday, the natural gas futures market worked its way quietly higher Wednesday as traders appeared reluctant to be short heading into another potentially bullish storage report Thursday. By virtue its higher-high, higher-low, 5.5-cent gain and $4.694 close, the October contract was able to post a positive day on the charts, potentially paving the way for more upward consolidation following the 10:30 a.m. ET inventory release.

A special committee of directors that has been probing the extent of CMS Energy Corp.’s involvement in questionable round-trip energy trading activity is expected to disclose its findings to the company’s full board of directors on Oct. 31, said CFO Thomas J. Webb last Tuesday. The company’s outside auditor, Ernst and Young, will review the work of the special committee and its corporate financial re-audit in November, and will report the results to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) probably in December.

A special committee of directors that has been probing the extent of CMS Energy Corp.’s involvement in questionable round-trip energy trading activity is expected to disclose its findings to the company’s full board of directors on Oct. 31, said CFO Thomas J. Webb Tuesday. The company’s outside auditor, Ernst and Young, will review the work of the special committee and its corporate financial re-audit in November, and will report the results to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) probably in December.