Pushed

Natural gas futures pushed higher on Wednesday amidst forecasts for colder temperatures and expectations that the United States might have recorded its first storage gas withdrawal of the winter heating season last week.

Building off the December contract’s 12.7-cent gain during its first day in the limelight Thursday, traders pushed the front-month contract through the $4 psychological barrier on Friday to close at $4.038, tacking on another 14.8 cents in the process.

November natural gas futures traders pushed the contract lower Thursday morning following news from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) that a slightly larger than expected 74 Bcf was injected into underground stores for the week ending Sept. 24.

Natural gas futures pushed higher for a second straight day as the October contract tested $4 resistance on Wednesday before closing at $3.966, up 4.7 cents from Tuesday’s finish.

In a typical case of “buy the rumor, sell the fact,” August natural gas futures pushed higher in early Thursday morning trade in anticipation of a bullish storage injection for the week ending July 16. However, once the news broke of a 51 Bcf injection, front-month values came off a bit. While the August contract went on to close the session 13 cents higher at $4.643, some market watchers were surprised the rally wasn’t larger considering the bullish injection, extended summer heat and a tropical depression bearing down on the Gulf of Mexico.

Spooked by the potential of coming in Monday to a full-blown hurricane churning in the Gulf of Mexico, natural gas futures traders on Friday pushed the July contract to a high of $4.893 before the contract closed the regular session at $4.861, up 11.3 cents from Thursday’s finish but 13.6 cents below the previous week’s close.

BP shares in the U.S. market rebounded sharply Thursday as investors who had pushed the panic button Wednesday heeded cooler analytical heads and drove the price up more than 12% at the close from the 14-year low recorded the previous day.

Traders pushed natural gas futures higher for a second consecutive session as the May contract added 3.9 cents to close at $4.199. Despite the rise, some market watchers are not ready to say that the seasonal advance has begun just yet.

Traders pushed natural gas futures higher for a second consecutive session as the May contract added 3.9 cents to close at $4.199. Despite the rise, some market watchers are not ready to say that the seasonal advance has begun just yet.