Flat

With the exception of a few scattered flat to barely lower points, nearly all the market was on the same softening page Friday, showing the most unity of price movement since the previous week. Lack of heating load in many areas, the delayed impact of a bearish storage report Thursday and the demand dropoff typical of a weekend produced overall declines ranging from about a nickel to more than 40 cents but concentrated in the teens.

With little fresh news on which to trade, natural gas futures chopped sideways Friday in light pre-weekend book squaring. Bears were content that Thursday’s gains did not carry over into Friday’s trading. Bulls, meanwhile, rested on their 47-cent gain for the week. May finished at $5.411, down a trifling 0.8 cents for the session.

A new study released by the American Gas Association indicates that gas reserve levels remained flat or dropped slightly last year compared to the 183.5 Tcf recorded in 2001. Reserves rose in six out of the last eight years.

A new study released by the American Gas Association indicates that gas reserve levels remained flat or dropped slightly last year compared to the 183.5 Tcf recorded in 2001. Reserves rose in six out of the last eight years.

After closing below the $5.00 mark last Thursday for the first time since early January, natural gas futures traded quickly sideways Friday as neither bull nor bear could muster the buying or selling required to budge the market.

With a few flat to barely higher points thrown into the mix, most of the cash market was mildly softer Thursday. A majority of declines were capped at a little more than a nickel, although falls of about 12-15 cents were recorded at scattered points such as Texas Eastern M-3, San Juan-Blanco and the PG&E citygate.

Although freezing temperatures lingered on in Midwest and Northeast markets, weather-related demand was fading in the rest of the nation Monday, and it was only a matter of time before the Midwest and Northeast got their own warm-ups going. With a highly negative screen providing an extra push over the edge, it was hardly surprising to see cash prices falling between about 15 and 70 cents at nearly all points.

Despite fiscal first quarter 2003 revenues that surged to $549,111 from the $377,548 posted during the similar period of 2002, Peoples Energy reported a stagnant net income of $31 million or $0.87 per diluted share for its first quarter 2003 ended December 31, 2002, compared with $31 million or $0.87 per diluted share last year.

A few flat to modestly higher points were arrayed against a wave of further declines Wednesday. Northeast citygates led the way lower with drops that exceeded half a dollar in some cases, although elsewhere the softness was considerably milder with numbers down between 2-3 cents and about a quarter.