The downhill slope on which virtually all points were launched Wednesday got even steeper across the board Thursday, and promises to be even more slippery Friday following a dollar-plus swan dive by January natural gas futures. Heating load is diminishing dramatically as the harsh cold in which many markets began the week continues to become past tense.
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Futures Break Below $7 as Energy Complex Continues Descent
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.
Price Plunges in Northeast Lead Overall Downturn
The slippery downhill slope on which prices were launched Wednesday, somewhat befittingly during the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, got steeper Thursday, especially for Northeast citygates. Most points saw drops ranging from about a nickel to a little more than a dime, with those on either side of a dime being most prevalent. But numbers in the warming Northeast dove by as much as 49 cents.
Sub-$4.00 Futures Brings Bulls Out of Woodwork
Dropping beneath $4.00 for the first time since early August, natural gas futures continued on the slippery slope downward Friday as traders pressured the market lower for the third straight day. With Friday’s 8.1-cent decline and $3.973 close, the June contract has tumbled 96.7 cents since becoming spot contract at Nymex a month ago. June expires at 3:10 p.m. (EDT) today.
Price Slide Gets Steeper as January Trading Ends
The downhill slope for end-of-January swing prices Tuesday wasabout as slippery as any of the icy roads in parts of the Midwestand Northeast. Despite such conditions that normally would helpprop up gas prices, it was a rare point failing to drop less than50 cents, and most of the declines ranged from 70 to 90 cents.
Technical Failure Puts Bears in Control
After gapping lower at the open, natural gas futures followed aslippery downward slope yesterday as traders liquidated positionsamid bearish technicals and ahead of warming temperatures expectedlater this week. In contrast to light selling seen last week,yesterday’s weakness manifested itself across the entire strip ofcontracts, led by the May contract which tumbled 7.6 cents to$2.744. Comparatively, the prompt contract eased 7.1 cents to$2.714 and the 12-month strip gave back 5.4 cents to $2.867.Trading was active, with an estimated 63,810 contracts changinghands.
Futures End the Year on a Slippery Slope
After managing minor gains Tuesday and Wednesday, February gasfutures were unable to hold ground and slipped into the holidayweekend at $2.329, down 6.5 cents for the day and nearly back wherethey started the week. Both fundamental and technical indicatorsshowed continued downward momentum on Thursday.
Prices Down in Incremental, Bidweek Trading
The slippery slope on which cash prices started sliding earlierthis week got steeper Thursday. As on Wednesday, the softness wasbeing felt in both the late-February incremental and March bidweekmarkets.