Topsy

In a topsy-turvy trading session conspicuous only for its lack of bullish leadership, natural gas futures slipped lower Wednesday amid two waves of long liquidation. An early afternoon rally was about all the buyers could muster, and it was overshadowed by selling at the market’s open and again heading into its close. March finished at $5.785, down 19.2 cents for the session.

Following a topsy-turvy span of trading in which prices fell Thursday as quickly as they rose Wednesday, natural gas futures sputtered sideways to slightly higher Friday as traders gently covered shorts ahead of the weekend and the Monday expiration of the August contract. August closed 3.4 cents higher at $2.936. For the second day in a row, volume in the gas pit was heavy with an estimated 171,719 contracts changing hands.

Following a topsy-turvy span of trading in which prices fell Thursday as quickly as they rose Wednesday, natural gas futures sputtered sideways to slightly higher Friday as traders gently covered shorts ahead of the weekend and the Monday expiration of the August contract. August closed 3.4 cents higher at $2.936. For the second day in a row, volume in the gas pit was heavy with an estimated 171,719 contracts changing hands.

In yet another in the string of topsy-turvy trading sessions, natural gas futures sunk lower Monday, as traders took profits following Friday’s advance and liquidated positions ahead of the year-end close. The selling was most concentrated just before the 1 p.m. EST closing bell, demoting the February 2002 contract to its lowest point since April 1999. At $2.570, February was down 20.4 cents for the session and just off its 32 month low at $2.545.

Despite the recent topsy-turvy events that have plagued the energy industry over the past couple of months, AEC’s board of directors said Monday that it has approved the company’s 2002 capital budget and confirmed that AEC is on course to achieve its strategic growth plans through 2004.

In a topsy-turvy session that left both bull and bear searching for answers, natural gas futures slipped lower Thursday as traders took profits following Wednesday’s shocking storage news and resultant 37.4-cent advance. At the closing bell yesterday, the September contract was 10.1 cents lower at $3.367.

In another topsy-turvy trading session, natural gas futuresfinished well off daily highs, but still in positive territoryyesterday as players bid up the market in the morning only to dumpit lower after fresh storage data was released. The Januarycontract traded within a wide, 50-cent range and closed 22.4 centsstronger at $9.326. Most of the out-months were much more staid,with May through December 2001 contracts only able to tack on a1.5-cent gain. Illiquid trading contributed to the volatility asless than 45,175 contracts changed hands.

In a topsy-turvy session that made traders glad the weekend wasnear, natural gas futures spiked and retraced three times Fridayamid a bevy of fundamental and technical news. After encounteringsubstantial selling in the low $6.80s early in the day, the Januarycontract checked sideways for much of the session, finishing up 8.4cents at $6.673. Comparatively the rest of the 12-month strip, ledby March, which erupted 20.7 cents to close at $6.043, experienceddouble-digit gains.

While the political battleground in Florida grew bloodier witheach passing day last week, natural gas pipelines eager to servethe growing market reached a truce agreement of sorts that callsfor Duke Energy and Williams to purchase the proposed GulfstreamNatural Gas System from The Coastal Corp. and ditch their competingBuccaneer Pipeline project for the state.