U.S. natural gas prices for 2013 will be lower than predicted in late October because winter weather so far has been missing in action, Raymond James & Associates’ energy team said this week. Analysts with Goldman Sachs also have reduced their price forecast but said they remain bullish on the market.
Jittery
Articles from Jittery
Futures Take Corrective Action, Settle 31.4 Cents Higher
Coming off a Monday that featured a jittery Wall Street and a titanic tumble in energy commodities, April natural gas futures on Tuesday went into correction mode as some traders suggested that a more sideways-trending market coupled with high volatility lies ahead in the near term. The prompt-month contract reached a high of $9.420 before closing out the day at $9.414, up 31.4 cents from Monday.
Short-Covering Lifts Futures at Close; Traders Jittery Ahead of Bush Address, Storage Report
Since becoming the prompt contract a month ago the February natural gas futures contract has exhibited a strong tendency to rebound following each and every price dip. That was again perfectly demonstrated Tuesday on the month’s penultimate trading day as market-on-close buying lifted the contract off its late afternoon low at $5.33. February closed at $5.444, up 4.8 cents for the session and 11.4 cents off its low notched just 15 minutes earlier.
Aquila Tries to Calm Jittery Credit Agencies, Blames ‘Misguided Actions’ of Others
Looking to calm investor and credit rating agency jitters about energy trading operations, Aquila, Inc. on Friday said that it estimates that 70% of its 2002 operating earnings and 75% of its 2003 operating earnings will come from the more traditional side of its business mix. The company also said it intends to maintain its dividend at $1.20 per share.