Trading

Natural gas for weekend and Monday delivery was little changed in Friday’s trading in spite of a dangerous blizzard bearing down on large eastern population centers.

Last week’s 40-cent weekly drop in spot futures proved prescient and this week it was the physical market’s turn to play catch-up. TheNGI Weekly Spot Gas Average fell 15 cents to $2.28 and futures carved out a modest gain. The week’s physical market losses came in spite of a massive week-ending blizzard forecast to crush eastern and Mid-Atlantic population centers.

Very little black ink was going around natural gas trading desks Thursday, as both next day gas and futures took it on the chin, with soft power pricing and weather forecasts in major eastern markets expecting temperatures to surge well above normal on Friday.

For the most, part next-day gas prices moved within a few cents of unchanged in Thursday trading, but factor in hefty declines seen in New England and the East and the market tenor changes.

Natural gas for delivery Tuesday managed to hold steady in Monday trading as declines in the Northeast were just able to offset broad-based gains at most market points.

Total monetary sanctions handed down by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) this year totaled more than $3.2 billion, including an $800 million sanction, the largest in the commission’s history, according to Chairman Timothy Massad.

Physical gas for Tuesday delivery carried on with the kind of losses incurred in Friday for weekend trading, despite near-term temperature forecasts at eastern points expected to take a drop by midweek. Some eastern points were significantly higher, but the NGI National Spot Gas Average fell 6 cents to $1.64.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Monday issued an order against Total Gas & Power North America (TGPNA) and one of its West Desk traders bringing and settling charges for attempted manipulation of natural gas monthly index settlement prices during bidweeks at four major trading hubs in Texas and elsewhere in the Southwest.

January natural gas is expected to open unchanged Monday morning at $2.21 as near-term weather forecasts continue their mild pattern and the technical pattern shows little change. Overnight oil markets rose.