Lower

Blaming a “necessary” investment to penetrate Georgia’sderegulating gas market, Scana Corp. posted 1998 fourth quarterconsolidated earnings of $31 million or $0.30 cents per share, downfrom $59 million or $0.55 cents per share for 4Q97. For the year,however, Scana Corp. increased consolidated earnings from $221million or $2.06 per share in 1997 to $223 million or $2.12 pershare for 1998.

He who bids and runs away lives to bid another day-and at alower price. That could be the new mantra at Questar Corp. whichannounced a record $546 million capital spending plan for 1999.

Although generally moving a little bit below index levels, theinitial February aftermarket proved stronger Monday than manytraders were expecting. Several points managed to stay flat toindex. Considering how little weather demand there was in majormarket areas and the difficulty some suppliers reported inscrounging up buyers, it was surprising how little price erosionthere was, a Texas marketer said.

The futures market was pressured lower Tuesday as sellers sentthe February contract tumbling back down to support clustered inthe $1.73-74 area. But once again the move failed to produce a newcontract low, which set off a short-covering rally that bid theprompt month higher just prior to the close. February settled at$1.817, a fraction of a penny off its high for the day and 2.1cents higher than last week’s closing price.

It was still freezing and snowy in much of the Midwest andNortheast Thursday, but cash traders continued to bank on anapproaching warming trend that has been ballyhooed since thebeginning of the week. Prices fell by about a nickel to a littleover a dime in across-the-board softness. The Martin Luther KingDay weekend (in which some apparently are getting a half-day offthis afternoon in addition to the actual holiday Monday) added tothe general bearish mood.

Choppy trading continued at the New York Mercantile Exchangeyesterday as the futures market was pressured lower early, only tocome roaring back in the afternoon. The February contract finishedup 3.9 cents to $1.809.

After seesawing throughout most of the morning, futures pricestumbled again Wednesday as traders surveyed the threat of freshbearish fundamental news. The front-month January contract finisheddown 7.2 cents to $1.886 at the close, barely off session lows of$1.88. Estimated volume was a healthy 67,274.

January futures gapped lower on the daily charts for the secondday in a row Tuesday by opening 11 cents less than Monday’s low.But in contrast to Monday’s downward price movement, yesterdayfeatured an upward price trend for the session. At the closingbell, the prompt month had climbed its way back up to $1.958-only1.8 cents off Monday’s settle.

Spirit Energy 76, Unocal Corp.’s Lower 48 exploration andproduction unit, agreed to sell substantially all of its oil andgas assets in Oklahoma to Magnum Hunter Production Inc. for about$36 million in cash.