Suggesting

Buoyed by forecasts suggesting February may be just as cold as January, the natural gas futures market notched a second straight daily advance Tuesday as traders continued to eschew the short side of the ledger. However, the market remains in a state of flux technically, prompting some observers to believe the market will have a difficult time rebounding from current levels to post new highs.

Despite forecasts Friday suggesting that a category one hurricane may be spinning in the Gulf of Mexico by Monday, natural gas futures shuffled lower ahead of the weekend in sympathy with the short-term trend and following bearish supply data released on Thursday. At $5.154, August was down 10.4 cents for the session and notched its lowest settlement price since April. At 59,899 contracts, estimated volume was weak, indicating that many traders were taking a wait-and-see approach to Tropical Storm Claudette.

Softer cash prices ahead of the weekend and forecasts suggesting there will be little additional weather-related demand this week were enough Friday to put the kibosh on any chance for a short-covering rally in natural gas futures. With that the May contract completed its penultimate trading day in an exceedingly lackluster session that featured a razor thin 4-cent trading range. It closed at $5.477, up 0.3 cents from Thursday’s close.

Under the weight of an increasingly negative technical outlook and on the heels of new forecasts suggesting moderating weather is ahead, natural gas futures continued lower Friday, as traders liquidated long positions established during the market’s recent run to $4.42.

The rebirth of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an economic alternative for new deliveries most likely will significantly alter the trading patterns of natural gas within 25 years, ultimately transforming gas into a globally traded commodity, similar to how oil is traded worldwide today, according to a new study by economic consultant DRI-WEFA. This shift in trading patterns, said the authors, will improve the security of supply and maintain gas prices, which will be driven by the U.S. benchmark price.

The rebirth of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an economic alternative for new deliveries most likely will significantly alter the trading patterns of natural gas within 25 years, ultimately transforming gas into a globally traded commodity, similar to how oil is traded worldwide today, according to a new study by economic consultant DRI-WEFA. This shift in trading patterns, said the authors, will improve the security of supply and maintain gas prices, which will be driven by the U.S. benchmark price.

The rebirth of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an economic alternative for new deliveries most likely will significantly alter the trading patterns of natural gas within 25 years, ultimately transforming gas into a globally traded commodity, similar to how oil is traded worldwide today, according to a new study by economic consultant DRI-WEFA. This shift in trading patterns, said the authors, will improve the security of supply and maintain gas prices, which will be driven by the U.S. benchmark price.