Churning

Spooked by the potential of coming in Monday to a full-blown hurricane churning in the Gulf of Mexico, natural gas futures traders on Friday pushed the July contract to a high of $4.893 before the contract closed the regular session at $4.861, up 11.3 cents from Thursday’s finish but 13.6 cents below the previous week’s close.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. kept its U.S. natural gas machine churning 24/7 in 2Q2008, and the results were enviable.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. kept its U.S. natural gas machine churning 24/7 in 2Q2008, and the results were enviable.

Tropical Depression Ten was churning south of Jamaica Tuesday evening and was poised to become a Tropical Storm in the next 24 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm contributed to a sharp rise in futures prices Tuesday — the October contract soared to a high of $3.69 — but failed to produce much of an effect on cash prices until very late trading. Most cash points were flat to up or down a few cents on average.

While the clocks tick and the calendar pages keep turning,California keeps churning out court and regulatory cases fasterthan legislative solutions for its nagging energy woes.