U. S. crude oil futures ended lower in choppy late trading on Thursday, pressured by a further decline on Wall Street and as the dollar strengthened on risk aversion. New York Mercantile Exchange natural gas futures ended down sharply on Thursday, pressured mostly by an unexpectedly-large weekly inventory build that drove stocks further into record high territory.

The U. S. Federal Trade Commission issued a final rule to fight oil market manipulation, saying such fraudulent conduct can have wide-ranging ramifications throughout the U. S. economy.

The U. S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cut its 2009 Atlantic hurricane season forecast, predicting there would be between seven and 11 tropical storms, with three to six becoming hurricanes.

Frontline, the world's biggest independent oil tanker shipping group, said on Thursday around 50 very large crude carriers
(VLCCs) were storing crude oil, particularly in the U. S. Gulf and off Europe.

The U. S. Energy Information Administration report showed that total domestic gas inventories climbed to 3.089 trillion cubic feet, still a record high for this time of year.

We remain fundamentally bullish in natural gas despite sharp sell off yesterday. Spot prices at Henry Hub were up for the fourth consecutive day. In Crude oil, outlook for the day is sideways to down.