Diverge

State attorneys general and utility regulatory commissions remain divided in their reactions to FERC’s sweeping proposal to implement a standard market design (SMD) for U.S. wholesale electricity markets.

After rallying to new 15-month highs Monday on renewed hurricane-hype, natural gas futures reversed lower Tuesday on reports from the National Hurricane Center that Isidore will only be able to reach category 1 hurricane status when it slams into the central Gulf Coast late Wednesday or Thursday. That selling was enough to pressure the October contract down to a new one-week low at $3.71. The prompt month closed a few pennies above that level at $3.742, down 23.6 cents for the session.

As sources had predicted (see Daily GPI, July 14), the weekendmarket was divided along geographical lines. Eastern quotes were upby around a nickel to a little more than a dime in most cases,while the majority of western points registered declines rangingfrom slightly less than a dime to 20 cents or more.

Even as cash prices plummeted 25 cents or more for weekenddeliveries the futures screen managed to push higher Friday astraders looked past the unseasonably warm weather outside theirwindows and focused instead on short and medium range forecasts.After a strong opening at $2.56 the December contract caught a waveof technical buying from both trade and local shorts, allowing itto peak at $2.71 before settling up 12.7 cents at $2.649.