Shrugged

The cash market shrugged off what normally would have been a bullish development — hurricane-related offshore shut-ins — and softened in Wednesday’s trading for the first day of July. Quotes were down anywhere from a little less than a nickel to about 30 cents.

Cash prices shrugged off the previous day’s screen drop of 11.7 cents and slightly receding cooling load and instead focused on the modest increase of potential in a tropical storm named Alex reaching the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) production area as they recorded gains at virtually all points Wednesday.

July natural gas futures retreated on Tuesday as the market shrugged off a day on the calendar that bulls in the recent past have used to start a rally. The prompt-month contract dropped 9.3 cents Tuesday to close at $4.248.

Natural gas futures traders continued their recent stretch of back-and-forth trading as the May contract shrugged off Friday’s nickel advance and dropped nearly a dime on Monday. The prompt-month contract reached a low of $3.902 before closing out the regular session at $3.944, down 9.5 cents from Friday’s finish.

Natural gas futures traders continued their recent stretch of back-and-forth trading as the May contract shrugged off Friday’s nickel advance and dropped nearly a dime on Monday. The prompt-month contract reached a low of $3.902 before closing out the regular session at $3.944, down 9.5 cents from Friday’s finish.

Cash traders shrugged their shoulders at news that Gulf of Mexico (GOM) production was being shut in and personnel were being evacuated Sunday and Monday as Hurricane Ida approached the eastern GOM. In continuing to send most of the market lower again Monday, they preferred to concentrate on moderate weather outlooks for most areas and the previous Friday’s drop of 18.7 cents by November futures.

The cash market shrugged off major futures weakness a day earlier and a continuing dearth of significant weather-based load by recording gains at a majority of points Tuesday.

Natural gas futures traders on Monday shrugged off the arrival of Tropical Storm Fay and instead convincingly took out psychological support at $8 with a close of $7.888, down 20.4 cents from Friday’s finish. The close below $8 was the first since Feb. 6.

Continuing the drop that began last Friday, December natural gas futures on Tuesday shrugged off crude’s latest record run to once again scout the downside of price, recording a low of $7.780 before settling at $7.863, down 13.6 cents from Monday. Since last Thursday’s $8.637 close, the prompt-month contract has dropped 77.4 cents.