Regular

Following its close above $4 on Monday, the December natural gas futures contract continued to march higher on Tuesday to a peak of $4.228 before closing the regular session at $4.210, up 12.2 cents on the day.

December natural gas futures traded in a tight 10-cent range on Friday before closing the regular session at $3.937, up 8.1 cents from Thursday’s finish but 10.1 cents lower than the previous week’s close.

Following the ups and downs of the last few regular trading sessions, natural gas futures traders highlighted the uncertainty on direction in the market on Tuesday as the December contract traded in a nearly 20-cent range between $3.750 and $3.928 before closing at $3.870, up 3.8 cents from Monday’s finish.

Natural gas futures traders put the brakes on last week’s late rally as the December contract on Monday recorded a low of $3.825 before closing out the regular session at $3.832, down 20.6 cents from Friday’s finish.

Even with three days of flat to much stronger pricing Monday through Wednesday, only Marcellus Shale numbers in northeast Pennsylvania were able to eke out a small gain during the week ending Thursday. Other plays fell 6-12 cents during that period.

Taking a break from notching new 13-month lows, November natural gas futures on Tuesday — one day ahead of expiration — recorded a low of $3.263 before closing the regular session at $3.354, up 3.7 cents from Monday’s finish.

After trading in a range between $3.507 and $3.613 during Wednesday’s regular trading session, November natural gas futures ended up adding 2.6 cents to Tuesday’s rally to close Wednesday at $3.539.

The October natural gas futures contract strung together its third consecutive higher regular session close on Tuesday after testing resistance at the $4 price level. The prompt month reached a high of $4.020 before closing the day at $3.966, up 2.8 cents from Monday’s finish.

Following the September contract’s 11.3% decline in values last week, the October contract, in its first regular session action as the front month, rebounded on Monday to close at $3.812, up 10.7 cents or 3% from Friday’s close.