Values

Despite some colder-than-normal temperatures on the horizon, December natural gas futures probed lower values for a third consecutive day on Friday. The prompt-month contract recorded a $3.794 low before closing the regular session at $3.799, down 12.8 cents from Thursday’s close and 13.8 cents lower than the previous week’s close.

Adding to the week’s trend of back-and-forth trading — a product of a directionless market — October natural gas futures probed lower values on Friday and closed at $3.881, down 13.8 cents from Thursday’s finish and 14.3 cents below the previous week’s close.

After probing lower values in early morning Monday trade, the October contract broke the recent cycle by rebounding higher during regular session hours as storm activity in the Atlantic continued to increase. The prompt-month contract ended up testing resistance at $4 with a $3.975 high before closing out the day at $3.938, up 5.5 cents from Friday’s finish.

Natural gas futures values got the green light to proceed lower Thursday morning after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that a slightly larger-than-expected 40 Bcf was injected into underground storage caverns for the week ending Aug. 20. Near-month natural gas futures pierced support at $3.810, but failed to close below it.

September natural gas futures values plumbed lower prices on Wednesday before coming rebounding to close the regular session at $4.326, up 2.9 cents from Tuesday’s finish. The price action occurred as Tropical Depression 5 became disorganized and dissipated in the northern Gulf of Mexico as it headed northwest toward the southeastern Louisiana coast.

Wednesday’s rally in natural gas futures values differed from the ones on both Monday and Tuesday in that the September contract was able to hold on to most of the day’s gains. After reaching a high of $4.756, the prompt-month contract closed the regular session at $4.737, up 9.8 cents from Tuesday.

After working natural gas futures values higher in Thursday morning trade in anticipation of a lean storage report, traders had their suspicions confirmed as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that 60 Bcf was injected into underground stores for the week ending June 25. Following a day of spirited trading within a wide 40-cent range, August natural gas futures ended up finishing Thursday’s regular session at $4.854, up 23.8 cents from Wednesday’s close.

Possibly a little perplexed from the recent back-and-forth swings in natural gas futures values, traders on Monday kept the May contract in a tight range between $4.174 and $4.313 before it closed out the regular session at $4.262, up half of a penny.

Possibly a little perplexed from the recent back-and-forth swings in natural gas futures values, traders on Monday kept the May contract in a tight range between $4.174 and $4.313 before it closed out the regular session at $4.262, up half of a penny.