Recorded

Front-month natural gas futures recorded a two-month low on Friday and threatened to take out what some market watchers deem as significant support down at the $5 price level. The March contract reached a low of $5.008 before closing Friday’s regular session at $5.044, down 12.8 cents from Thursday’s finish.

Front-month natural gas futures recorded a two-month low on Friday and threatened to take out what some market watchers deem as significant support down at the $5 price level. The March contract reached a low of $5.008 before closing Friday’s regular session at $5.044, down 12.8 cents from Thursday’s finish.

After generally leveling off Wednesday, the market recorded small gains at a large majority of points Thursday. Forecasts indicated that chillier conditions would be returning in some areas by the end of the weekend, although nothing like a revisitation of the frigid cold snap that dominated late December and the first half of January was expected.

News that storage injections were recorded for every week of November for only the second time in history allowed January natural gas futures values to resume their downward trajectory on Thursday. While the prompt-month contract oscillated for a bit following the report that 2 Bcf had been injected for the week ending Nov. 27, an afternoon push lower allowed the January contract to close at $4.459, down 7.1 cents from Wednesday’s finish.

A modest majority of points recorded price increases in triple digits Monday as frigid weather continued spreading into Canada and most of the northern half of the U.S. All of the cash market racked up big gains, getting extra support from the 39.7-cent pre-Thanksgiving spike by January futures.

While funds appear to be exiting some of their short positions, November natural gas futures on Monday recorded their fourth consecutive drop in values. The prompt-month contract reached a low of $4.467 just after noon EDT before closing out the regular session at $4.513, down 27.4 cents from Friday’s finish.

Natural gas futures on Monday geared up for another run at psychological resistance at $5 as the November contract recorded a high on the day of $4.916 before closing at $4.835, up 5.4 cents from Friday’s regular session close.

Despite increased throughput in its Barnett Shale gathering and transmission and in its Haynesville Shale transmission, Dallas-based Crosstex Energy LP recorded a net loss of $10.32 million (minus 19 cents/share) in 2Q2009, compared with net income of $21.74 million (21 cents/share) in 2Q2008, the company said Friday.

Global natural gas production in 2008 jumped 3.8%, above the 10-year trend of 3%, driven mostly by the United States, which recorded its highest ever annual increase in output, according to BP plc’s annual review of world energy trends.