Frosty

As red maple leaves and frosty mornings herald the onset of heating season in Quebec, distributor Gaz Metro Inc. (GMI) is asking for cancellation of a pipeline safety directive that could make fall extra chilly for French Canadian natural gas consumers.

While temperatures throughout the Midwest and East remained frosty Friday, natural gas futures traders were more concerned with the forecasted warm-up following the weekend. As a result, January futures reached a low of $7.500 before closing at $7.561, down 11 cents on the day and a considerable 86.1 cents lower than the previous week’s settle.

Canada’s arctic gas project has been served with a frosty reminder that it’s struggle with northern natives still isn’t over. The last aboriginal holdouts against the $7 billion (US$6 billion) Mackenzie Gas Project have taken their case to court for the second time in two years.