Lingering

In light of the lingering safety concerns, real or perceived, over LNG and the cancellation of four proposed LNG terminals due to local opposition, Lehman Brothers is forecasting that only three new liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals, out of a total of about 40 proposed terminals, will be built in North America by 2010 for a total of seven operating terminals.

Drawing support from a bit of post-winter chill lingering across the northern tier of states and moderate increases in air conditioning in parts of the southern tier, cash prices recorded mild advances at the great majority of points Wednesday.

Although there are lingering risks, San Diego, CA-based Sempra Energy received a boost in its outlook Wednesday from Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB). Analysts at CSFB predicted that the company will “outperform” previous estimated earnings and stock prices in 2003.

Winter may be over as far as most traders are concerned, but there are still a few lingering hints of it that, along with fresh strength in the energy futures complex, proved sufficient to drive most points moderately higher in Thursday’s overall mixed price picture.

Lingering concerns in the minds of some investors as to whether American Electric Power (AEP) is facing a liquidity crunch should be eased in the wake of a recently close debt offering by four of the company’s subsidiaries that yielded more than $2 billion in proceeds, a top official with AEP told a gathering of investment professionals last week.

Lingering concerns in the minds of some investors as to whether American Electric Power (AEP) is facing a liquidity crunch should be eased in the wake of a recently close debt offering by four of the company’s subsidiaries that yielded more than $2 billion in proceeds, a top official with AEP told a gathering of investment professionals on Thursday.

Wednesday’s general market softness was merely a lull in this week’s upward march of prices. Nearly all points were back on the rise Thursday, with the exception of a few small downturns in the Rockies and at scattered other points. Most gains were in the teens, bracketed by some in single digits and others of 20 cents or more in the Northeast, led by Algonquin citygate spikes of about 60 cents that included a peak quote of $9.25.

The global, multi-billion-dollar deal announced by California and Williams last week that could ultimately include two other states and more than a dozen local governments, along with a series of class action plaintiffs, calls for California to gain more control of its long-term power contracts and receive up to $417 million in separate payments from the energy company.

Despite a substantial amount of near-winter weather lingering in the Midwest and Northeast market areas, softer cash prices Wednesday showed conclusively that the early-week rally had run out of steam. A few scattered points were flat to barely lower, but otherwise losses ranged up to about 30 cents at the PG&E citygate. Most decreases were around a dime or less, however.