Sifted

Alleviating overbought conditions, natural gas futures sifted lower Friday as traders took profits ahead of the three-day holiday weekend. By checking down to its $5.44 low for the session, the February contract filled in a key level on the charts. It closed at $5.536, down 10.9 cents for the session. Estimated volume was light in Friday’s abbreviated session.

After ratcheting tentatively higher through the morning hours, natural gas futures sifted lower Friday afternoon as information on the extent of damage to production assets in the Gulf of Mexico was slow in coming. With that November came to rest at $3.739 Friday, up 1.5 cents for the session but down 30.2 cents in its first full week as prompt contract at the New York Mercantile Exchange. At just 77,372, estimated volume was evidence of the market’s uncertainty.

For the third time in as many trading sessions, natural gas futures sifted lower throughout much of the session after posting a strong opening print. However, while trading sessions on Friday and Monday finished with a late rally, Tuesday’s trading action saw little or no bounce, prompting bears to eye the downside and bulls to turn in their horns. The August contract finished at $2.889, down 5.8 cents for the session and just several ticks off its $2.885 low on the day.

For the third time in as many trading sessions, natural gas futures sifted lower throughout much of the session after posting a strong opening print. However, while trading sessions on Friday and Monday finished with a late rally, Tuesday’s trading action saw little or no bounce, prompting bears to eye the downside and bulls to turn in their horns. The August contract finished at $2.889, down 5.8 cents for the session and just several ticks off its $2.885 low on the day.

Ending a three-day, 40-cent price advance, natural gas futures sifted lower Tuesday, as trade selling overpowered fund short covering. Negating Monday’s advance with a 12.6-cent decline, the November contract fell throughout the session to close even with Friday’s $2.681 settle.

Limiting the price rebound to just one day, natural gas futures sifted lower ahead of the weekend Friday as trade selling overcame an optimistic opening print. The June contract was the hardest hit, slipping 7 cents on the day and 21.5 cents for the week to close at $4.278.

After gapping lower on the opening bell, natural gas futuressifted lower Friday as traders continued the sell-off that begantwo and a half weeks ago. With Friday’s $4.541 settlement, theNovember contract concluded its tenure as prompt month on adecidedly negative note, down 12.3 cents on the day and $1.24 offits Oct. 12 high-water mark.

Breaking its string of days with advances at nine, the naturalgas futures market sifted lower yesterday as traders learned that atropical storm they had been watching on Friday would likely not bea threat to gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. The prompt monthtook the news on the chin, tumbling 15.7 cents to finish at $4.318.Estimated volume confirmed the move, with 37,472 contracts changinghands.

Natural gas futures sifted lower Monday following news ofwarming East Coast temperatures and amid a weakening technicalpicture. After a disappointing sub-$3.00 opening, the Novembercontract chopped sideways Monday to settle at $3.016, off 5.6-centsfor the session. Volume was somewhat thin as only 63,328 contractschanged hands.