Uninspired

Cash markets overall swan-dived an average 17 cents Friday as the usual suspects of an uninspired corps of weekend buyers joined forces with a mild weather outlook and a weak screen to send weekend and Monday gas sharply lower.

January natural gas drifted lower and February inched higher in uninspired trading Tuesday such that even options expiration could not whet trader appetites. Traders noted no attempts to either attack or defend nearby options strikes, and futures prices settled within fractions of Friday’s close. At the closing bell January had slipped 0.2 cent to $3.112 and February had added 0.3 cent to $3.150. February crude oil rose $1.66 to $101.34/bbl.

October natural gas fell again in uninspired trading that saw traders ascribe the losses to more mild weather patterns. October dropped 6.8 cents to $3.730 and November fell 6.5 cents to $3.820. November crude oil lost $1.00 to $85.92/bbl.

The August natural gas contract put in another uninspired performance Tuesday as weather reports citing continued hot weather seem to be losing their market-moving punch. August fell 1.6 cents to $4.370 and September eased 2.4 cents to $4.331. September crude oil rose 39 cents to $99.59/bbl.

July natural gas futures retreated in uninspired trading Friday as traders noted that the market had recently broken out of some longstanding trading ranges and looked forward to the next week. Oil markets and equity markets suffered from a weak jobs report. At the close July had fallen 8.7 cents to $4.707 and August was down 8.2 cents to $4.739. July crude oil skidded 18 cents to $100.22/bbl.

May natural gas futures were limited to a narrow 6-cent trading range and fell nominally as risk managers noted an uninspired market, and described their methodology for wringing value from a low-volatility trading environment. At the close May had eased 2.3 cents to $4.389 and June shed 1.4 cents to $4.452. June crude oil lost a penny to $112.28/bbl.

May futures drifted lower in uninspired trading Friday as traders struggled to get orders filled and had to adjust to a low-volatility rangebound market. At the close May futures had inched lower 0.8 cent to $4.204 and June fell 0.5 cent to $4.264. In contrast, May crude oil bounded higher by $1.55 to $109.66/bbl.

May natural gas futures drifted lower in uninspired trading Tuesday as traders debated the likelihood of another move lower. At the close May futures had fallen 1 cent to $4.098 and June was down 0.8 cent to $4.168. May crude oil tumbled $3.67 to $106.25/bbl.

April natural gas futures drifted lower Wednesday in uninspired activity as traders monitored what seemed to be an ongoing struggle for the April contract to settle above $4.