Updated Aug 22, 2024
8/22/24
By Kevin Dobbs
onNatural gas futures forged upward through early afternoon trading on Wednesday, with the prompt month headed toward a sixth gain in seven sessions.
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Kevin Dobbs joined the staff of NGI in April 2020. Prior to that, he worked as a financial reporter and editor for S&P Global Market Intelligence, covering financial companies and markets. Earlier in his career, he served as an enterprise reporter for the Des Moines Register. He has a bachelor's degree in English from South Dakota State University.
Natural gas futures seesawed in a narrow range of gains and losses for a second straight session on Wednesday. The prompt month hovered in the red by early afternoon trading as market participants weighed expectations for strong late-August cooling needs and bullish supply trends against expectations for retreating demand in the fall.
Coming off an 11.2-cent rally the previous session, natural gas futures probed a few cents higher early Tuesday on lower production estimates. But the prompt month failed to sustain momentum as traders focused on weaker near-term demand and took profits. Cash prices also trended lower at midday.
Natural gas futures on Monday advanced through early afternoon trading, propelled by forecasts for widespread heat in late August, lighter production and expectations for another big sign of tightening supply/demand with Thursday’s government inventory data. Spot prices also advanced.
Natural gas futures accelerated declines through midday trading Friday, undercut by weakness in physical cash markets and forecasts for milder weather next week.
Natural gas futures rallied after a government report showed a remarkable August decrease in storage. Analysts interpreted it as a bullish sign of supply/demand tightening after a hot summer and lower production levels. By early afternoon, however, profit-taking dropped the front month into a narrow range of gains and losses.
Natural gas futures rallied early Tuesday, bolstered by late August heat forecasts and expectations for a paltry storage result. However, after five days of gains, traders took profits by midday and sent the prompt month lower.
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