Retreated

August natural gas retreated Thursday as traders acknowledged a robust increase in gas storage even as major energy markets were subjected to brutal heat. At the close August had fallen 10.5 cents to $4.395 and September had shed 10.7 cents to $4.362. August crude oil added 73 cents to $99.13/bbl.

August natural gas retreated moderately Tuesday, but risk managers don’t see any change in the overall market landscape and suggest that a severe storm may be required to change client’s risk assessments. At the close August had eased 1.3 cents to $4.533 and September had fallen 1.3 cents as well to $4.511. August crude oil rose $1.57 to $97.50/bbl.

July natural gas futures retreated Wednesday as traders observed interest by systematic traders re-emerging on the sell side, and little concern from surprises in Thursday’s government inventory figures. At the close July was down 7.1 cents to $4.317 and August had skidded 7.3 cents to $4.350. August crude oil added $1.24 to $95.41/bbl.

July natural gas futures retreated in uninspired trading Friday as traders noted that the market had recently broken out of some longstanding trading ranges and looked forward to the next week. Oil markets and equity markets suffered from a weak jobs report. At the close July had fallen 8.7 cents to $4.707 and August was down 8.2 cents to $4.739. July crude oil skidded 18 cents to $100.22/bbl.

July futures retreated Wednesday as traders booked gains and viewed current price levels as selling opportunities. Traders, however, see market psychology as having changed to one of buying on weakness. At the close July dropped 3.7 cents to $4.629 and August shed 3.3 cents to $4.667. July crude oil tumbled $2.41 to $100.29/bbl.

June natural gas futures retreated in active trading Tuesday, as traders noted a lessening of risk from Mississippi River flooding, but a bevy of weak economic reports proved difficult to ignore. At the close June had fallen 13.6 cents to $4.182 and July was down 13.3 cents to $4.246. June crude oil shed 46 cents to $96.91/bbl.

April natural gas futures retreated Monday, but only after registering another eight-week high and keeping the bullish case intact. New high or not, short-term traders are suspicious and sense that a rise above $4.50 will be met with stiff selling. At the end of the day April futures had fallen 2.9 cents to $4.374 and May shed 4.2 cents to $4.448. May crude oil dropped $1.42 to $103.98/bbl.

All but a few locations retreated Tuesday from the previous day’s overall strong gains despite falling temperature forecasts for much of the Midwest and South. They appeared to be outweighed by significant warming trends in the Northeast, Midcontinent, Rockies and desert Southwest. There was an additional bearish factor in Monday’s 18.9-cent plunge by January futures.

Natural gas futures values retreated Thursday morning to a low of $3.853 following the news from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) that 3 Bcf was injected into underground storage for the week ending Nov. 12. However, the December contract rallied in afternoon trade to close at $4.007, down 2.3 cents from Wednesday’s regular session close.