Definitely

Following the previous Friday’s sizeable drops, the market was definitely stronger Monday but remained a bit soft for the most part. Although warmer temperatures are forecast for Tuesday in some sections of the Midwest, stormy weather is expected to cool most of the region by midweek, and although it will remain generally hot, some parts of the South can also expect a slight dip in mercury levels.

It definitely appears that the bloom is off the price rose that was sustained through much of September despite generally weak weather fundamentals. Only small gains at a few Rockies points were left out of declines everywhere else in trading that began the final week of September on Monday.

The on-again off-again relationship between crude and natural gas markets was definitely back in the on-again position over the long weekend and during Monday’s regular session as a significant drop in crude futures values helped drag the August natural gas contract below pretty strong support at $3.500. Front-month natural gas futures ended up closing out the day at $3.487, down 12.8 cents from Thursday’s regular session close.

Proving that while it might be down it is definitely not out of the bidding war to acquire the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) following Monday’s Department of Justice (DOJ) ruling, IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) fired back Tuesday evening with an enhanced merger proposal to CBOT.

Noting that the United States is in for a “long, hot summer,” AccuWeather.com Chief Long-Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi said that air conditioners will definitely be “getting a workout” in most regions of the country. The summer update released Friday was similar to the forecaster’s mid-May outlook (see NGI, May 21).

Noting that the United States is in for a “long, hot summer,” AccuWeather.com Chief Long-Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi said that air conditioners will definitely be “getting a workout” in most regions of the country. The summer update released Friday was similar to the forecaster’s mid-May outlook (see Daily GPI, May 18).

Dallas-based Atmos Energy may be the biggest pure gas utility company in the United States, but size is definitely not the name of the game when it comes to the company’s marketing and trading business. A focus on customer service and low risk transaction management will be fundamental tenets of the operation going forward, said Mark H. Johnson, the new head of Atmos’ nonregulated division.

In the nation’s leading grape-growing state,California’s largest winery unleashed some definitely sour grapes in a lawsuit filed earlier this month against Calgary-based EnCana, alleging it and its marketing subsidiary conspired to inflate natural gas prices in the state.

It has definitely become a buyers’ market in the energy industry, with CMS Energy Corp. one of the latest to announce it will sell some of its prized income-producing assets to ensure it can pay the bills and restore investor confidence. Last Wednesday, the Dearborn, MI-based company surprised many by announcing it will consider offers on its entire domestic pipeline and field services businesses, worth an estimated $1.4 billion.