Prompt

August natural gas futures continued their three-week-plus decline on Monday as the prompt-month contract continues to zero in on the low for the move of $3.155 set back on April 27. The contract put in a low of $3.225 in Monday morning trading before closing out the day’s regular session at $3.263, down 11 cents from Friday’s finish.

Natural gas futures traders chose to play it close to the vest during the June contract’s first regular session action as the prompt-month contract, possibly opting to wait for fresh storage news Thursday morning before making their next move. Futures closed Wednesday at $3.403, down 3.7 cents from Tuesday’s finish.

One day back above $6 appeared to be enough for the time being as February natural gas futures, in their first regular session prompt-month contract action, slipped back below the psychological price level. Backed by a somewhat moderating weather forecast and the continued economic slump’s impact on demand, the February contract dropped 22.5 cents Tuesday to close at $5.859.

Christmas gifts continued to come early for natural gas futures bears on Monday as the January contract recorded another prompt-month low for the move on reports that the bitter cold engulfing much of the country would be short-lived. In quiet holiday trading, January natural gas put in a low of $5.210 before closing at $5.294, down four pennies from Friday’s finish.

In its first regular session as the prompt month, the September natural gas futures contract on Wednesday broke below $9 but once again failed to record a close under that psychological level. The contract traded between $8.810 and $9.320 during the day before closing at $9.248, up 11.8 cents from Tuesday’s finish.

Riding momentum from the July contract’s bullish expiration Thursday, the August natural gas futures contract, in its first prompt-month action, broke the previous high for the up move with a $13.428 trade before a late round of short-covering forced a close of $13.198, down a nickel from Thursday’s close but 8.5 cents higher than the previous week’s finish.

Coming off Thursday’s near 35-cent drubbing, July natural gas futures rebounded on Friday but failed to finish the week north of $13. The prompt-month contract traded between $12.967 and $13.185 on Friday before closing the regular session at $12.994, up 13.3 cents from Thursday and 36.9 cents higher than the previous week’s close.

After breaking above the $13/MMBtu price level on Tuesday, July natural gas futures continued to explore the upside throughout Wednesday. The prompt-month contract climbed an astounding 25.8 cents to finish Wednesday’s regular session at $13.210, backed by low storage injection expectations for the week ended June 13, a $2.67/bbl bump in July crude futures due to Nigerian strike fears and a “couple of distinct waves” traveling in the tropical Atlantic and the Caribbean.

In its first regular session action as the prompt-month contract, July natural gas futures sank like a rock following news from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) that 87 Bcf was injected into underground natural gas storage for the week ended May 23. The contract recorded a low of $11.466 before closing out Thursday’s regular session at $11.474, down 52.1 cents from Wednesday’s close.