Shuffled

PG&E Corp. shuffled a couple of senior executives effective last Saturday, but its CEO reiterated that the company’s focus will remain unchanged, emphasizing renewables and infrastructure development. Along with this operating strategy, the utility holding company intends to remain an active participant in molding a new national energy policy, CEO Peter Darbee told a second quarter earnings conference call Wednesday, announcing quarter-over-quarter increased profits.

Following declines of nearly a dollar last week, the natural gas futures market shuffled sideways in lackluster trading Monday. With weather forecasts continuing to call for mild temperatures, bull traders had little on which to mount an offensive. Meanwhile, the possibility for a third-straight record-setting storage injection gas has bears looking for further price declines this week.

In another session marked by choppy trading activity, natural gas futures shuffled sideways Friday as bullish technicians and bearish analysts clashed in the court of industry opinion. And while each trading faction had its moments, little was resolved by Friday’s $6.51 close, which was down just 1.1 cents for the session and near the middle of the market’s wide $6.350-625 daily trading range.

After checking higher to notch a new, 16-month high for the second straight session, natural gas futures shuffled lower in two distinct surges of commercial selling Tuesday afternoon. At $4.247, the November contract closed nearly a dime off its $4.34 high and 5.6 cents lower for the session.

Despite revised weather forecasts calling for a warm-up east of the Mississippi, natural gas futures shuffled higher Monday as traders continued to hedge for the possibility of a technical short-covering rally. The buying was concentrated in the morning hours and by 12:20 p.m. EST the February contract had already reached its peak for the day. However, only light selling was seen throughout the afternoon and as a result, the February contract managed to hold onto some of its morning advances. It finished at $2.25, up 4.6 for the session, but 7.5 cents off its high trade.

After gapping lower for the second-straight session, natural gas futures shuffled sideways within a very tight range Thursday as buyers and sellers were just about evenly matched. However, the price damage that had been done in the overnight access session was undeniable and that weakness proved enough to propel December prices to new 31-month lows at $2.52 shortly after the opening bell yesterday. The contract finished at $2.551, down 12.5 cents for the session and nearly 25 cents beneath Tuesday’s $2.80 close. Heavy estimated volume of 85,193 punctuated the bears’ statement.

With little on either the technical or fundamental news front, natural gas futures shuffled sideways and lower yesterday, as traders weighed moderating temperatures against the potential for a bullish storage report Wednesday. At the closing bell the September contract was 4.1 cents lower at $2.999. The 12-month strip suffered only a minor setback, down 1.6-cents at $3.443.

Buoyed by two distinct buying surges, natural gas futures shuffled higher Tuesday as commercial futures traders reacted to rising temperatures across most areas of the country and strong demand in the nearby physical market. While losses Monday were spread out almost equally across the entire natural gas strip, Tuesday’s gains were front-loaded with the August contract receiving a 12.9-cent boost to $3.282. By comparison, the 12-month strip advanced just 9.6 cents to close at $3.715.

Buoyed by strong commercial buying, natural gas futures shuffled higher yesterday after overcoming an extremely negative first hour of trading in which prices broke beneath Tuesday’s low at $3.79. The July contract closed at $3.914, down 6.7 cents for the session, but more than 13 cents above its low for the session.