Anticipation

Fueled by positive expiration-day price action last Friday andprodded by continued anticipation of higher prices this summer,natural gas futures shuffled higher yesterday as bulls gave a warmbuying welcome to the new spot contract April. With that boost theApril contract closed up 6.9 cents at $2.686 while the summer stripwas up 5.3 cents at $2.721.

Warm temperatures in major eastern cities and apprehension aboutthe possibility of “another bullish storage report” gave bulls thereason to buoy the market higher yesterday, and they did notsquander the opportunity. Buying, led mainly by commercial traders,sent the July contract up to a retest of its previous open outcrysession high of $2.41 before settling at $2.407. Estimated volumewas 73,884.

Atlantic Richfield Co. (ARCO) told employees it will lay offworkers and cut its operating budget in anticipation of continuedlow oil prices. No details on the number of job cuts or where theywould be made were available. A company spokesman told NGI ARCOshould have a plan in place by mid to late October. ARCO has about20,000 employees, all but about 3,500 of them in the United States.

Excitement and anticipation, rather than anxiety, prevailed onthe Canadian end of the mammoth merger announced earlier this monthbetween British Petroleum (60%) and Amoco Corp. (40%), thanks tonatural gas.