Regular

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.

Natural gas futures bears took the day off as the April contract traded in a slim dime range before closing out the regular session at $4.708, up 2.9 cents from Monday’s finish. However, with the winter finishing up its long run, traders don’t see too many technical or fundamental factors standing in the way of further declines.

Natural gas futures bears took the day off as the April contract traded in a slim dime range before closing out the regular session at $4.708, up 2.9 cents from Monday’s finish. However, with the winter finishing up its long run, traders don’t see too many technical or fundamental factors standing in the way of further declines.

March natural gas futures rebounded from Tuesday’s 15.8-cent slide to gain 7.6 cents on Wednesday. The prompt-month contract closed the regular session at $5.386.

March natural gas futures rebounded from Tuesday’s 15.8-cent slide to gain 7.6 cents on Wednesday. The prompt-month contract closed the regular session at $5.386.

Taking its cue from the January contract’s negative expiration on Tuesday, February natural gas futures in their first regular session action as the front-month contract dropped 13.1 cents Wednesday to close at $5.709.

After pushing a few pennies higher in low-volume trading on Friday, the upward momentum appeared to run out heading into Monday’s regular session as the January natural gas contract plummeted back below $5. The prompt-month contract reached a low of $4.823 before closing out the day at $4.848, down 34.4 cents from Friday’s finish.

The January natural gas futures contract, in its first regular session as the front month, Wednesday surprised most traders by shooting nearly 40 cents higher despite ample gas inventories and the lack of any real winter chill on the immediate horizon. Word that 2 Bcf had been injected into underground storage for the week ending Nov. 20 only added fuel to the bulls’ fire.

Without any real cold temperatures to speak of in the markets that matter, December natural gas futures pushed lower for most of Wednesday’s regular session and entered a price gap that was created almost two months ago. The prompt-month contract closed at $4.254, down 27.6 cents from Tuesday’s finish.