Prompt

In its first regular session action as prompt-month contract, March natural gas futures — propelled by cold in the Midwest, inflation concerns and rumors of a record storage withdrawal — ran up to a high of $8.130 before finishing Wednesday at $8.045, up 10.2 cents from Tuesday’s close.

Prompt-month natural gas futures shot exactly 18.1 cents higher for a second consecutive session Friday as traders and analysts debated without consensus the reasoning for the renewed bout of strength. After reaching a high of $7.985, the February natural gas contract — which expires Tuesday — closed out the day at $7.983, just a penny short of the previous Friday’s finish.

February natural gas futures continued to scout lower prices Wednesday as temperature forecasts continued to moderate and economy concerns ran rampant. The prompt-month contract put in a low of $8.090 before settling the day at $8.133, down 6.3 cents from Tuesday’s close.

The bull move in natural gas futures looked to be alive and well in Friday morning trading before the prompt-month contract came tumbling back to earth in the afternoon. After reaching a high of $8.410 in early activity, the February contract plummeted to a low of $8.095 just after noon EST before closing out the day at $8.210, down 4.9 cents from Thursday but 36.9 cents higher than the previous week’s finish.

November natural gas futures traders stood aside Friday as all eyes continued to focus on the meteoric rise in crude futures. While prompt-month natural gas closed at $7.218, up 3 pennies from Thursday and 17.7 cents higher than the previous week, December crude reached a high of $92/bbl before closing out at a record high $91.86/bbl, up $1.40 from Thursday.

November natural gas futures tested longstanding resistance at $7.500 once again on Tuesday, but were rebuffed. The prompt-month contract traded between $7.360 and $7.550 before settling at $7.458, up 9.1 cents from Tuesday’s close.

November natural gas futures retreated after November crude oil futures came off of an all-time high Tuesday as traders sensed the day’s high price in the prompt-month natural gas contract may represent a near-term peak. November natural gas fell 7.8 cents to settle at $7.367.

Following Monday’s drop of nearly 30 cents, August natural gas futures traders continued to push the prompt month lower Tuesday as the contract recorded a low of $6.240 before closing out the day’s regular trading session at $6.307, down 6.9 cents from Monday.

With most traders starting their Independence Day holiday early, August natural gas futures trading on Tuesday was mostly muted. The prompt month traded within a slim 11.5-cent range before settling at $6.754, down a penny on the day. Whether this week’s slowdown of the recent price drop is due to anything other than pre-holiday trading remains to be seen.