Session

After putting in a new low for the move of $3.155 in morning trade, May natural gas futures ended up creeping higher from there for the remainder of Monday’s regular session before closing at $3.253, down 4.4 cents from Friday’s finish. Despite the fact that there is no bullish case anywhere to be found, traders and analysts warned that anything can happen Tuesday, which marks the May contract’s expiration.

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.

Traders were still digesting last week’s late weakness as May natural gas futures in their first front-month regular session action traded in a tight range Monday before closing at $3.739, up less than a cent from Friday’s finish.

In his first address to a joint session of Congress last Tuesday, President Obama heralded renewable fuels as the solution to the country’s nagging energy problems, while the Republicans in their response stressed the need for diversity in the U.S. energy mix, including stepped-up domestic oil and natural gas drilling.

April natural gas futures in its first regular session action as the front-month contract on Thursday digested the morning news that 101 Bcf was withdrawn from underground storage last week with little more than a blip on the charts. Prompt-month futures failed to drop below the psychological $4 price level and ended up closing at $4.077, up 4.8 cents from Wednesday’s close.

In his first address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, President Obama heralded renewable fuels as the solution to the country’s nagging energy problems, while the Republicans in their response stressed the need for diversity in the U.S. energy mix, including stepped-up domestic oil and natural gas drilling.

After putting in a high of $6.232 in Tuesday morning trade, February natural gas futures slunk lower for the remainder of the regular session, recording a low of $5.865 before settling at $5.983, down 8.9 cents from Monday’s finish. Despite the decline, some market experts said the lows could already be in and that bulls could finally be coming to power with the support of colder weather and larger gas storage withdrawals.

One day back above $6 appeared to be enough for the time being as February natural gas futures, in their first regular session prompt-month contract action, slipped back below the psychological price level. Backed by a somewhat moderating weather forecast and the continued economic slump’s impact on demand, the February contract dropped 22.5 cents Tuesday to close at $5.859.

November natural gas futures managed a late-session rally Tuesday, but traders discounted the move and indicated that the market was largely rangebound with a bias toward lower prices. November futures rose 10.3 cents to $6.844, and December gained 9.7 cents to $7.088. November crude oil skidded $3.36 to $70.89/bbl.