Erupted

Fueled by a steady flow of short covering, natural gas futureserupted higher late yesterday morning as traders looked pastbearish storage data and focused on constructive short-term weatherand technicals. After testing support in the $2.65-67 area around10 a.m. (CST), the April contract rallied throughout the rest ofthe session to finish up 7.6 cents at $2.786.

Fueled by the East’s worst winter storm in four years, naturalgas futures erupted higher at the open yesterday as tradersestablished new longs with confidence.

Led by what one New York local trader called “massive shortcovering,” the futures market erupted 27.1 cents higher yesterdayin a rally that left many market participants incredulous. Comingon the heels of fresh storage data and subsequent gains in Accesstrading Wednesday, the October contract gapped higher at the openyesterday and never looked back, finishing at $2.697.

Fueled by stronger cash prices and revised weather forecasts,the futures market erupted higher early yesterday as speculativeand commercial traders added to their positions. However, afternotching the highest mark for a spot month since the week endingDecember 12, 1997 at $2.77, the September contact filtered lower ina quiet afternoon session to settle at $2.721, up 2.3 cents on theday. Estimated volume was light, with 62,221 contracts changinghands.

Barrett Resources Corp., a Denver-based independent producer,reported that a major well blowout that erupted early Thursday mayhave been caused by “downhole casing failure due to extendedexposure to high pressure.”

A bidding war has erupted over British electric company TheEnergy Group with Texas Utilities formally entering the battleMonday with an offer of 810 pence (US$13.37) for each Energy Groupshare – 45 pence more than that of the initial bidder PacifiCorp.The Portland, OR firm was not to be out-penced, however, coming inwith a new offer of 820 pence. PacifiCorp said it has acquired45,987,079 EG shares, representing approximately 8.8% of theBritish Firm’s outstanding share capital.