Recorded

After piercing support at $3.500 in Globex electronic trading on Monday, front-month natural gas futures recorded a low of $3.388 early during Tuesday’s regular session before rebounding higher. The June contract — which goes off the board on Wednesday — popped back above the important psychological support level to close at $3.537, up 2.2 cents from Friday’s finish.

Even as the front-month futures contract recorded a third consecutive day of gains on Wednesday, market watchers were under no illusion that the trend would gain any sort of real momentum to pull prices up from their six-and-a-half-year low. The May contract closed Wednesday’s regular session at $3.693, up four-tenths of a penny.

May natural gas futures recorded their second consecutive “quiet” session on Tuesday, but one broker noted that increased volatility is likely ahead once the liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, demand and price dynamics play out as early as this summer. Front-month natural gas closed 3.7 cents higher Tuesday at $3.776.

Christmas gifts continued to come early for natural gas futures bears on Monday as the January contract recorded another prompt-month low for the move on reports that the bitter cold engulfing much of the country would be short-lived. In quiet holiday trading, January natural gas put in a low of $5.210 before closing at $5.294, down four pennies from Friday’s finish.

Prices recorded strong gains across the board Monday as heating load remained plentiful despite warming trends in some areas such as the Midwest and sections of the South. Quotes also got modest support from industrial demand returning from its typical weekend decline.

Natural gas futures followed the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower for a second straight day Tuesday while crude recorded a rebound of sorts. November natural gas shaved another 6.7 cents to close at $6.768, further validating Monday’s penetration of long-holding support at $7.028.

One day after the Dow Jones Industrials recorded one of the largest single-day point losses ever, the feeling on Tuesday was that investors might have gotten a little bit carried away. Bargain hunters rushed to Wall Street and to commodity markets on Tuesday, resulting in significant climbs on the day.

The cash market recorded higher prices at all points Thursday, largely due to October futures skyrocketing by 63.1 cents a day earlier. Hurricane-related supply losses appeared to be pinching a little harder as most Gulf Coast points achieved strong increases, and forecasts of freezing weather in the Northeast likely contributed some heating load to the market.

Following four days of mixed price movement, Friday’s cash market emulated the one a week earlier in which all points recorded drops. Cooling load was due to fall during the weekend in some key power generation markets for gas; the screen had provided strongly negative guidance the day before with a 32-cent dive by September futures, and the usual weekend loss of industrial load was another factor in the softness.