Quiet

In another trading day characterized as quiet by sources, cash numbers were about flat to nearly 30 cents higher Monday. However, only CIG achieved the approximate 30-cent increase; other gains were capped at around a dime, and a majority of points were up by about a nickel or less.

While water levels in the Pacific Northwest, remaining winter weather in the East and even the advent of war with Iraq all could impact this summer’s natural gas and electricity prices in Nevada, Las Vegas-based Southwest Gas Corp. officials indicated Monday they are not overly concerned. They do admit the short-term future is unclear because of the many widely diverse variables involved.

With little in the way of fresh fundamental or technical news, natural gas futures traders played it safe Tuesday as they remained mostly on the sidelines in the abbreviated pre-holiday session. Gas futures trading shut down at 1 p.m. EST Tuesday and was set to re-open with Access trading Wednesday at 7 p.m. What activity there was Tuesday was dominated by locals who sold futures early only to cover those shorts late in the session. The net result was a market basically unchanged for the session. February closed the year at $4.789, down 1.1 cents on the day. Estimated volume was 48,835.

Despite forecasts calling for up to 8 inches of snow across southern New England, natural gas futures continued lower in expiration-related selling Tuesday, as traders continued to rotate out of their December contracts. With that the prompt month came to its final resting place at $4.14, down 12.1 cents for the day. Coincidentally, December also expired 12.1 cents lower than the level at which it began its month-long tenure as prompt contract, though it ended 1.4 cents above November’s settle.

In what was often characterized as a quiet trading day, prices were flat to mildly higher Tuesday in the East and moderately softer at most western points. Gains were capped at 5-6 cents, while Rockies and San Juan Basin declines of about a dime topped the losses.

After reaching the lowest levels since early March, the gas futures market got a boost last week from a smaller than expected storage injection and a downward revision to prior storage data on Thursday, which provided just enough steam for the September contract to end the week closer to its weekly high of $2.80 than Wednesday’s low of $2.64. However, September only managed to eke out a small 1.6-cent gain on Friday, ending the day at $2.761, just above its daily low of $2.755. Volume was light at 38,527, compared to 95,207 on Thursday.

Not even a burst of activity in what has so far been a quiet 2002 Atlantic hurricane season was able to support prices Monday. Except for mild upticks in California and the holiday-limited intra-Alberta market, along with a smidgen of flatness in the Northeast, most points fell between about a nickel and 30 cents. The larger declines tended to cluster in the Rockies, but Transco Zone 6-New York City continued to descend from last week’s stratospheric heights with a plunge of more than 40 cents to land it back in place with other Northeast quotes in the $3.20s.

The futures traders who managed to stay alert during Tuesday’s lethargic trading session were able to push the March contract below Monday’s $2.08 low and drop the daily close 4.3 cents to $2.074. But the market remained range-bound with very little fundamental news to prompt significant movement. The high for the day was set just after the opening bell at $2.14 and the $2.070 low was reached just prior to the end of regular trading.

With little in the way of fresh fundamentals or technicals in which to sink their teeth, bulls and bears did not stray too far from home Friday, as neither was willing to attempt a move ahead of the weekend. After opening at $2.14, the March contract shuffled sideways for four-and-a-half hours before closing even with Thursday’s settle at $2.138. At 53,618, estimated volume on Friday was extremely light.