Values

February natural gas futures continued to chase lower values Monday as near-term temperature forecasts call for a warm-up to hit the East by the end of the month. After putting in a low for the down move of $4.387 just prior to the regular session’s open, the prompt-month contract reached a high of $4.610 on the day before closing at $4.490, down 2.8 cents from Friday’s finish.

Wednesday’s rebound in natural gas futures values proved short-lived after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Thursday morning that only 67 Bcf was removed from underground storage for the week ended Dec. 5. The January natural gas futures contract responded bearishly to the report in morning trade before closing at $5.598, down 8.8 cents from Wednesday’s close.

Reports of the Lehman Brothers implosion, the purchase of Merrill Lynch, the freefall of the Dow Index and petroleum contract values and concerns over Hurricane Ike damage and shut-ins all added up wide swings for natural gas futures on Monday. After pressing support at $7 in early trade, the prompt-month shot violently higher to a high of $7.840 just after noon EDT before evening out in the end at $7.374, up less than a penny from Friday’s close.

Despite rebounding crude values, Tropical Storm Dolly entering the Gulf of Mexico and real heat flooding the Northeastern United States, front-month natural gas futures traded in a tight range on Monday before closing at $10.510, down 6 cents from Friday’s close.

Natural gas and crude futures values declined in unison on Wednesday as traders continued to debate whether the bullish move had finally run its course or the recent price pullback was just a pause before the next push higher. April natural gas recorded a low of $8.990 on the day before closing at $9.024, down 39 cents from Tuesday’s close. May natural gas followed suit, shedding 39.2 cents to finish the day at $9.112.

Natural gas futures values took their second consecutive session beating on Monday as Wall Street investment bank concerns dominated the chatter among traders. April natural gas dropped 76.8 cents Monday to close at $9.100, while April crude shrank by $4.53 to close at $105.68/bbl.

As they watched their respective share values plummet last Wednesday as a result of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) findings that financial futures exchanges that also act as clearinghouses are barriers to competition, the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) — which are currently in talks for an $11 billion merger — fired back.

As they watched their respective share values plummet Wednesday as a result of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) findings that financial futures exchanges that also act as clearinghouses are barriers to competition, the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) — which are currently in talks for an $11 billion merger — fired back.

Higher costs and a sustained drop in natural gas prices appear likely to continue into 2008, forcing some of the largest producers in Western Canada to cut their capital budgets and leading more of the smaller gas-heavy independents to sell assets or consolidate, energy executives said at a conference in Toronto.