Bear

Regency Energy Partners LP has acquired Pueblo Midstream Gas Corp. from Bear Cub Investments LLC for $55 million ($35 million in cash and approximately 750,000 Regency common units).

Natural gas futures staged a rally overnight Sunday and into Monday’s regular session as traders assessed forecasts for more seasonal January weather and a short-term positive technical outlook. After reaching a high of $6.560 on Monday, February natural gas ended up closing at $6.378, up 19.4 cents from Friday’s close.

The early-week bear market that resulted primarily from forecasts of a midweek break from harsh winter weather in some areas proved to be short-lived, at least in eastern markets. Prices rebounded from about a nickel to nearly 30 cents Wednesday at most points in the East as arctic air masses were predicted to bring sub-zero wind chills to the Midwest and Plains states Thursday and continue on into the Northeast and much of the South.

With negative pressures continuing to bear down on the market, cash prices finally succumbed Friday by posting sizeable losses at all points. Cooling load would be growing even scarcer over the weekend, the screen had dropped more than a quarter the day before, bearish storage signals were surfacing again, and the industrial load decline over a weekend came into play.

In what was one of the quietest sessions in recent memory, the natural gas futures market chopped mostly sideways Tuesday as neither bull nor bear was able to influence a move in their favor. The March contract closed at $6.316, down a half cent for the session and near the middle of its $6.26-40 trading range on the day.

Williams Cos. announced last Thursday that it has abandoned plans to sell its wholesale power business, citing the dim prospects for selling the asset in a depressed power market.

After dropping 18.1 cents on Monday, the natural gas futures prompt month on Tuesday chose to follow crude’s lead and probe the upside. With only a few days left until expiration, the July contract notched a 7.3-cent gain to close at $6.412. Action was light Tuesday, as 52,035 contracts changed hands.

Natural gas futures finished higher Thursday as bear traders were unable to use another larger-than-expected storage injection (32 Bcf) to their advantage. Though selling was seen immediately following the 10:30 a.m. EST storage report, it failed to press the market below what has become very stubborn support in the low to mid $4.60s. The market rebounded as a result, led by the December contract, which climbed back above unchanged and eked out a 5.8-cent gain to finish at $4.797.

Sonat completed shut-in testing Tuesday at its Bear Creek storage facility in North Louisiana and canceled the associated force majeure that had been in effect since April 1.