Scout

Picking up where the action ended on Wednesday, December natural gas futures on Thursday continued to scout lower price levels. After breaking below $4 and recording a $3.917 low, the prompt-month contract went on to close the regular session at $3.927, down 11.9 cents from Wednesday.

Despite yet another attempt to scout lower prices for the move, near-month natural gas futures once again were contained within their recent trading range as the January contract found support down at $5.500 and ended up closing Thursday at $5.548, down 7.1 cents from Wednesday’s close. For the bulls, a somewhat supportive 124 Bcf withdrawal ended up only being good for a short-lived knee-jerk higher to $5.754 during morning trade.

February natural gas futures continued to scout lower prices Wednesday as temperature forecasts continued to moderate and economy concerns ran rampant. The prompt-month contract put in a low of $8.090 before settling the day at $8.133, down 6.3 cents from Tuesday’s close.

Picking up right where they left off late last week, January natural gas futures continued to scout lower price levels on Monday, even as winter storms simultaneously brought chilly temperatures to the Northeast and Northwest. The prompt-month contract touched a low of $7.060 in the regular session Monday before rebounding to close at $7.214, down 8.8 cents from Friday.