Hint

Cash natural gas fell 11 cents overall on average Wednesday as the screen continued weak and there was no hint that winter weather would be enough to make a significant dent in storage. Northeast points were particularly hard hit but the Midcontinent and East weakened as well. At the close of trading January futures had fallen3.0 cents to $3.382 and February had dropped 2.9 cents to $3.412. January crude oil added 98 cents to $86.77/bbl.

January natural gas continued its march towards $3 as recent weather forecasts hint of milder conditions and a subsequent low withdrawal from storage inventories. At the close January had retreated 3.1 cents to $3.096 and February gave up 3.1 cents t $3.143. January crude oil gained 35 cents to $93.88/bbl.

Cooler-than-normal weather in the Northeast this summer could be a hint that a cold, snowy winter is in store for an area stretching from Boston to Washington, DC, according to AccuWeather.com Chief Long Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi.

Cooler-than-normal weather in the Northeast this summer could be a hint that a cold, snowy winter is in store for an area stretching from Boston to Washington, DC, according to AccuWeather.com Chief Long Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi.

Thursday’s hint that major weakness in spot prices could be in store played out in spades Friday. Plunges of close to half a dollar were common as the cash market bowed under the oppression of what little weather load it could find fading away in several regions, a day-earlier screen dive that continued Friday, a bearish storage report, Thursday’s news of storage injection opportunities declining further, and of course the extra loss of industrial load during a long holiday weekend.

Two House lawmakers who voted against the omnibus energy bill have expressed concern that the Department of Energy (DOE) may be illegally using department appropriations to carry out a “coordinated grassroots lobbying effort” to cinch passage of the measure when the Senate returns in late January.

Investigations are ongoing into “others” who may have been involved in a series of complex energy trades better known at Dynegy Inc. as Project Alpha, according to a Fort Worth-based Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official. The SEC official said “further action is likely” after three former Dynegy accountants were charged with criminal fraud on Thursday.

A Fort Worth-based Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official on Thursday said investigations were ongoing into “others” who may have been involved in a series of complex energy trades better known at Dynegy Inc. as Project Alpha, adding that “further action is likely,” after three former Dynegy employees were charged with criminal fraud.

A moderate amount of strength in the Rockies was the major exception Wednesday to a generally mixed bag of prices. Non-Rockies numbers were mostly flat but also ranged up to about a nickel higher or lower in some cases. Transco Zone 6-NYC took the only big fall of a little more than 50 cents.