Showing

Natural gas bulls couldn’t catch a break Tuesday, even with the release of favorable economic data showing that the economy is now in an expansion phase. October futures fell 15.6 cents to $2.821 and November shed 13 cents to $3.868. The market had a hard time bucking the headwind from the equity and crude markets as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 185 points to 9,310 on a weak bank sector and October crude oil fell $1.91 to $68.05/bbl.

September natural gas futures advanced smartly Thursday, helped by advances in equity markets and crude oil along with a government report showing that slightly less gas was injected into storage than anticipated. The September futures contract rose 19.5 cents to $3.743, and October gained 20.0 cents to $3.988.

August natural gas futures fell Tuesday as traders digested economic reports showing figures that were less than what analysts had expected. Longer-term technical traders note that the market is moving within a broad trading range but have their parameters in place to identify when the market is ready to stage a meaningful advance.

In spite of weather maps showing temperatures in the mid 80s or greater in the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. and the previous day’s rebound of 8.3 cents by July futures, cash prices fell at nearly all points Friday. Concerns about the growing storage surplus (and its down-the-road implications) along with the weekend loss of industrial load obviously commanded the most market influence.

July natural gas futures rose in volatile trading Friday as markets responded to an employment report showing fewer job losses than had been anticipated and traders expressed interest in the more distant portion of the price curve. July natural gas futures rose 5.8 cents to $3.868 and August gained 7.2 cents to $4.042. July crude oil fell 37 cents to $68.44/bbl, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 12 points to 8,763.

July natural gas futures gained ground Thursday in spite of a government inventory report showing injections above trader expectations and inventories well above historical norms. A strong performance by July crude oil, which more than made up for Wednesday’s $2.43/bbl drubbing, also helped the bullish cause.

April natural gas futures fell hard in active trading Thursday. Traders responded to data showing a weakening economy and a natural gas storage report that fell in line with expectations but below historical averages. Additionally, quantitative traders pushed prices lower.

Clearly showing the drop-off in demand and the increase in supply from new production, natural gas storage levels in the United States dropped only 195 Bcf for the week ended Jan. 30, which was one of the nation’s coldest weeks this winter. However, traders were actually expecting that only 190 Bcf would be removed for the week, so prices rebounded and ended up closing on the day at $4.642, up 4.5 cents from Wednesday’s regular session finish.

February natural gas futures retreated Tuesday as traders had to navigate both a strong dollar and seasonal analyses showing a deferral of the preseason low by up to two months. February futures skidded 15.9 cents to $4.642 , and the March contract dropped 18.2 cents to $4.631. The expiring February crude oil contract enjoyed last-minute buying and rose $2.23 to $38.74, but more distant contracts fell.