Traded

Sticking to a fairly tight trading range for a second consecutive session, August natural gas futures on Tuesday traded between $4.334 and $4.487 before closing the day at $4.354, down 3.4 cents from Monday’s close.

Looking to gain a more thorough picture of what goes on in the electronically traded futures markets, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has proposed a rule that would allow the government organization to collect on a weekly basis certain ownership, control and other information for all trading accounts active on U.S. futures exchanges and other reporting entities.

UBS AG has launched an exchange-traded note (ETN) listed on the New York Stock Exchange Arca (Archipelago Exchange) under ticker symbol “MLPG” that provides investors single-security exposure to the Alerian Natural Gas MLP (master limited partnership) Index, a midstream-focused subset of MLPs whose constituents earn the majority of their cash flow from the transportation, storage and processing of natural gas and natural gas liquids. The index provides exposure to the expansion of gas infrastructure, as well as the investment required to accommodate geographical supply shifts associated with shale gas development. The ETN will track the change in value of the Alerian Natural Gas MLP Index and pass on the corresponding distributions from the underlying companies as a quarterly coupon, net of fees.

Exploration and production (E&P) spending this year is forecast to jump by 8% to $353 billion among more than 110 of the largest publicly traded producers, with the largest North American producers boosting their capital spending by 24%, according to the newly released IHS Herold 2010 Global Upstream Capital Spending Report.

The May natural gas futures expiration Wednesday was devoid of any fireworks as the contract traded between $4.186 and $4.326 before going off the board at $4.271, up 5.5 cents from Tuesday’s finish. Taking over the prompt-month contract title, June futures edged 3.3 cents higher to close at $4.348.

The May natural gas futures expiration Wednesday was devoid of any fireworks as the contract traded between $4.186 and $4.326 before going off the board at $4.271, up 5.5 cents from Tuesday’s finish. Taking over the prompt-month contract title, June futures edged 3.3 cents higher to close at $4.348.

Natural gas futures bears took the day off as the April contract traded in a slim dime range before closing out the regular session at $4.708, up 2.9 cents from Monday’s finish. However, with the winter finishing up its long run, traders don’t see too many technical or fundamental factors standing in the way of further declines.

Natural gas futures bears took the day off as the April contract traded in a slim dime range before closing out the regular session at $4.708, up 2.9 cents from Monday’s finish. However, with the winter finishing up its long run, traders don’t see too many technical or fundamental factors standing in the way of further declines.

Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD), which became one of the largest publicly traded midstream partnerships in the country after it merged last year with related entity TEPPCO Partners LP, stands ready to provide natural gas producers with the infrastructure they need to process and transport their production, CEO Michael Creel said last week.