Hurricane

BP plc is appealing a FERC administrative law judge’s (ALJ) initial decision (ID) that says affiliates of the company gamed the market for natural gas at the Houston Ship Channel (HSC) during two and a half months in 2008 following Hurricane Ike.

Physical natural gas for Tuesday delivery romped higher Monday as traders had to deal with late summer heat expected to bake key Midwest and eastern populations centers. Gains were widespread, with only a small roster of points failing to show gains.

Danny, which was named 2015’s first Atlantic hurricane on Thursday, became a major hurricane Friday, boasting maximum sustained winds of 115 mph as it moved slowly about 900 miles east of the Leeward Islands, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Traders Friday saw no reason to commit to extended three-day deals when weather forecasts for major metropolitan areas looked to be near-normal if not below normal temperature patterns.

There were a lot of long faces in both the energy and financial markets for the week ended Aug. 21. Natural gas physical and futures both sustained a double-digit drubbing and the NGI Weekly Spot Gas Average fell 14 cents to $2.54. That, however, paled in comparison to the 531-point swan dive the Dow Jones Industrial Average took on Friday.

September natural gas is expected to open 4 cents lower Friday morning as traders anticipate a weather-driven price decline. Overnight oil markets fell.

Natural gas traders generally took cover Thursday until the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released storage figures for the week ending Aug. 14 and they could assess the impact of a modest degree of cooling.

Forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said there is a 90% chance that this year’s hurricane season will be below normal, but they added that while 2015 could be the third consecutive year for reduced hurricane activity, it was too early to tell whether it was the beginning of a trend that could last decades.

Natural gas and oil operators in the Gulf of Mexico were removing some nonessential personnel and keeping a wary eye on a disturbance…