Anticipated

November natural gas yielded to a larger than anticipated storage report Thursday and settled lower. The magnitude of the storage build caught many by surprise and raises the question of whether production estimates may be understated. At the close November had fallen 5.2 cents to $3.747 and December had retreated 2.6 cents to $4.015. November crude oil added 93 cents to $82.14/bbl.

Higher than previously anticipated earnings in its natural gas distribution and ONEOK Partners segments will help generate $355-400 million of net income in 2012, a significant increase compared with ONEOK Inc.’s 2011 guidance of $325-345 million, the Tulsa-based company said.

September natural gas futures fell Wednesday as traders anticipated the release of inventory additions well above last-year and seasonal norms, but it was not enough to dampen the case for a seasonal advance, analysts pointed out. At the close September had fallen 7.1 cents to $3.922 and October had retreated 7.9 cents to $3.889. October crude oil shed 28 cents to $85.16/bbl.

The plunge in oil prices in recent months hasn’t begun to pressure North American chemical producers to shift their feedstocks from natural gas liquids (NGL) products, according to midstream and chemical company executives.

Columbia Gas said final testing was occurring Tuesday morning at its Milford location, where a long-running outage has been in place, and it anticipated that intraday nominations might be possible.

September natural gas rose as traders suggested scale-down buying at lower levels, but said others elected to “front-run” the anticipated buying and establish early long positions. At the close September had risen 4.3 cents to $4.188 and October had advanced 3.3 cents to $4.190. September crude oil shed 81 cents to $94.89/bbl.

Summer heat, which has so far been “more impressive and widespread than anticipated,” will continue to blanket most of the country into the autumn, according to forecasters at Andover, MA-based WSI Corp., who also reaffirmed their prediction of an “active-normal” 2011 Atlantic hurricane season.

Summer heat, which has so far been “more impressive and widespread than anticipated,” will continue to blanket most of the country in August and into the autumn, according to forecasters at Andover, MA-based WSI Corp.

August natural gas futures rose Monday as traders anticipated the long-term storage deficit becoming wider. At the close August futures had risen 5.2 cents to $4.363 and September had added 4.1 cents to $4.371. August crude oil bounded higher, posting a gain of $1.95 to $96.89/bbl.