Flat

Baltimore Gas and Electric (BG&E) anticipates winter gas heating bills will be “comparable” to last year because of expected milder weather based on forecasts by the National Weather Service. The weather is expected to translate into decreased demand, which should help keep bills in line despite an estimated 15% rise in natural gas costs, the utility said.

Baltimore Gas and Electric (BG&E) anticipates winter gas heating bills will be “comparable” to last year because of expected milder weather based on forecasts by the National Weather Service. The weather is expected to translate into decreased demand, which should help keep bills in line despite an estimated 15% rise in natural gas costs, the utility said.

Duke Energy Corp. shares were flat Thursday and even gained ground on Friday despite news that the company missed third quarter earnings estimates and probably will miss earnings targets for the year.

Duke Energy Corp. shares were flat Thursday morning despite news that the company missed third quarter earnings estimates and probably will miss earnings targets for the year. The company said its quarterly net income from continuing operations was 35 cents/share compared to the 37 cents/share average of analysts’ expectations. Large losses in the company’s trading, marketing and power generation division, Duke Energy North America (DENA), continue to overshadow improvements in other company operations.

The cash market saw one of its most synchronized price movements ever Thursday as nearly all points ranged from flat to less than a nickel higher. A couple of scattered points fell up to 4 cents, and a couple of others rose slightly more than a nickel.

There was no encore performance by bulls. Following a four-day, 41-cent rally off Monday’s lows, natural gas futures eked out a small advance in quiet trading Friday. The September contract, which will expire Wednesday, was held to an extremely tight 5.5-cent trading range. It settled at $5.28, up 0.5 cents for the session and within striking distance of Thursday’s new one-month high at $5.34.

Despite some flat points here and there, the overall cash market continued to rise Thursday with gains that were mostly in single digits but reached nearly 15 cents in a few cases. And although a couple of sources confessed to seeing the weekend market as a tough call, majority sentiment looks for further price firmness Friday in spite of cold front forecasts for the Midwest and Northeast.

Flat numbers reigned across much of the market Tuesday, as a majority of points stayed within about a nickel up or down from unchanged. The gains tended to outweigh the losses, however, and most of the larger upticks occurred in the Rockies. Not coincidentally, the West remained the only market area experiencing severe summer heat.

A few flat to barely lower points in the Midcontinent, Gulf Coast and Southwest mixed with moderate increases in the rest of the market Tuesday. Screen strength from the day before, along with continued storage buying, nuclear plant outages and power generation demand in the sultry South, were the major contributors to keeping this week’s cash bullishness from fading.