Rebound

As expected, a strong rebound by July futures a day earlier and still-robust cooling load — despite some moderating weather trends from earlier in the week — pushed cash prices higher across the board Thursday.

As a producer had predicted, Monday’s rebound in the cash market was fleeting. Although some parts of the Midwest were about to see temperatures retreat again after a brief warm-up, the moderate nature of the general weather outlook combined with prior-day futures weakness to take nearly all of the cash market lower Tuesday.

As a producer had predicted, Monday’s rebound in the cash market was fleeting. Although some parts of the Midwest were about to see temperatures retreat again after a brief warm-up, the moderate nature of the general weather outlook combined with prior-day futures weakness to take nearly all of the cash market lower Tuesday.

Following a small rebound in values on Friday, April natural gas futures on Monday resumed the recent downtrend, notching a low of $4.036 before closing out the regular session at $4.079, down 9 cents from Friday’s finish.

Following a small rebound in values on Friday, April natural gas futures on Monday resumed the recent downtrend, notching a low of $4.036 before closing out the regular session at $4.079, down 9 cents from Friday’s finish.

The continuation of bone-chilling cold in a number of high gas usage regions allowed February natural gas futures on Monday to rebound from Thursday’s storage report-induced slump. The prompt-month contract recorded a high of $5.894 in morning trade and went on to close out the regular session at $5.884, up 31.2 cents from Thursday’s finish.

The U.S. natural gas rig count slowly has begun to rebound after bottoming in June, but the increased exploration has been confined to a few key areas, according to data reviewed by energy analysts. Activity planned by the oilfield service operators in North America will be a key indicator in the coming year, they said.

Traders stopped the hemorrhaging Tuesday as December natural gas futures staged a minor rebound during the regular session to close at $4.922, up 9.8 cents from Monday’s finish.

Envisioning a rebound in natural gas values next year, XTO Energy Inc. said 55% of its 2010 projected production is now hedged at $9.62/Mcfe. The company also announced that a recently brought online development in the Bakken Shale play of North Dakota is producing more than 2,700 boe/d.