Slide

Continuing their ride on a slippery slide lower, May natural gas futures on Wednesday broke below the psychological $7 level after failing to move any higher than $7.14 in morning trade. After recording a low for the session of $6.97, the prompt month ended up settling at $6.978, down 11.6 cents for the day.

With no signs yet of an expected cold front on the East Coast and fairly bearish weekly storage predictions, February natural gas futures on Wednesday had no choice but to decline for a second straight regular session.

After plunging in Tuesday’s regular session and then again in overnight Access trade to a $6.425 bottom, November natural gas futures on Wednesday reversed course eventually settling up 21.5 cents at $6.851. The up-move corresponded with a similar rebound in crude oil futures, which fell $1.13 on Tuesday and then rallied Wednesday to gain exactly $1.13 back, settling at $53.64.

The current weakness in natural gas prices and the commodity’s de-linking from crude oil is due to more than just a cool summer, according to a New York, NY-based independent research firm.

The price slide that had started Thursday tended to get steeper in Friday’s trading for the weekend. There were a few single-digit declines mixed into the across-the-board softness, but plenty of points fell 20 cents or more amid the majority of dips ranging from a dime to nearly 30 cents.

After plummeting to trade at $5.32 just prior to noon (EDT), September natural gas futures failed to find any traction and failed to bounce off the floor for the remainder of the trading session. The prompt month reached a low of $5.305 in afternoon trading before settling at $5.31, down 24.2 cents from Friday’s close.

The current weakness in natural gas prices and the commodity’s de-linking from crude oil is due to more than just a cool summer, according to a New York, NY-based independent research firm.

A general dearth of weather support kept downward pressure on cash prices Tuesday, with across-the-board declines ranging from a little under a nickel to nearly a quarter; most were in the teens. A moderate rally in July natural gas futures, in sympathy with strong performances by Nymex’s oil-related products, was not expected to be sufficient to overcome bearish fundamentals, so look for more softness Wednesday.

Marking it three consecutive days of double-digit price drops to end the week, the July natural gas futures contract on Friday declined 10.2 cents to settle at $6.261. While the prompt month was unable to threaten the $6 mark, it did reach a low on the day of $6.22, a level untouched since May 19.