Gained

Feeding off momentum gained in both the regular and accesstrading sessions Wednesday, the futures market muscled higheryesterday as the May contract notched its highest price since lastNovember. After gapping higher to open at $2.215, May traded mostlysideways Thursday morning before an early afternoon buying surgemapped out yesterday’s high price at $2.23. The contract finishedjust off that level at $2.225, a 5.1-cent advance on the day.

ScottishPower and PacifiCorp jointly announced that their Dec.7, 1998 merger plan gained a large boost Tuesday when the FederalTrade Commission (FTC) waived the 30-day waiting period under theHart-Scott-Rodino antitrust law.

AGL Resources is capitalizing on the experience gained in theprecedent-setting unbundling of its Atlanta Gas Light subsidiary,organizing a separate partnership to offer all the services acompany will need to move into the competitive market.

A new battle in utility deregulation gained momentum last weekwhen the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA) published aletter urging the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) toreject Florida Power Corp.’s petition to forgo competitive biddingfor construction of Hines 2, a second gas-fired generation plant atits Hines Energy Complex in Polk County, FL.

The futures market was poised to trade higher yesterday onmomentum gained from a string of advances dating back to lastThursday, but revised forecasts calling for seasonable temperaturesand a lack of technical direction took the wind out of bull-tradersails, allowing the market to slip lower. For the second day in arow, changes were more pronounced in the December contract than theprompt month. November slid 2.2 cents lower to settle at $2.18, butDecember lost 2.8 cents to $2.455.

Dynegy added a fourth regional marketing alliance and gainedentry into Georgia’s deregulated gas market by partnering with AGLResources and Piedmont Natural Gas. The three equal partners – whatDynegy CEO Chuck Watson calls a “dream team” – formed SouthStarEnergy Services LLC to offer unregulated energy products andservices to industrial, commercial and residential customers in theSoutheast. Offerings will include gas, electricity, fuel oil andpropane, along with related retail services. The Atlanta-basedcompany will have offices in Charlotte, NC, and Nashville, TN.

The June Nymex contract made it 2 for 2 for up days this week,as the spot month gained another 4.1 cents to settle Tuesday at$2.256. Sources said the market followed cash prices higher butalso warmed further gains may be limited. “This is the fifth timeJune has failed to rise above $2.27. Moreover, the daily lows havebeen rising also, so sooner or later something’s going to have togive,” an analyst told GPI.

The April Nymex contract gained another 6.1 cents to $2.300 onThursday, as the contract continued to move higher following thebreakout from its recent technical trading range. Despite thestrong rally and heavy estimated volume of 72,113 contracts, theupsurge stopped just short of breaking through its next resistancelevel at $2.305.

The April NYMEX contract gained a meager 1.8 cents to $2.155 onMonday, as traders continue to hold the spot month to a tighttechnical trading range. The bottom of that range was confirmedwhen April bounced off major support at $2.105. Despite the narrowtrading band, estimated volume still managed to reach 33,502 totalcontracts.