Notched

Adding to pre-holiday losses notched last Wednesday, natural gas futures gapped lower at the open bell Monday as traders learned that the bearish combination of storage and weather is unchanged from last week. However, after plumbing a $2.61 low shortly after the open, the December contract shuffled higher yesterday to retake a portion of its earlier losses. The prompt month finished at $2.696 down 11.7 cents for the session, but up 8.6 cents from its low Monday.

Shrugging off losses notched in the overnight Access trading session, natural gas futures checked higher throughout the day Thursday as traders reacted to forecasts calling for a changing weather pattern in the second half of November. At the closing bell, the December contract was 9 cents higher at $2.96.

After failing to sustain a fresh 10-day high notched yesterday morning, natural gas futures tumbled lower Monday as traders once again eschewed the long side of the market for more than a couple hours. The prompt August contract finished at $3.153, 6.5 cents lower for the day and 18.2 cents off its high water mark for the session. The losses were also seen in the out months, which, for the most part, experienced more severe losses. The winter strip declined 8.1 cents to $3.867 and the 12-month strip dropped a cool 8 cents to $3.619.

Volumes on IntercontinentalExchange, an online marketplace forover-the-counter energy and metals, reported late last week that ithas notched another single day record on its power exchange,trading 4 mmMWh on March 22 on its power. The company said thetrading volume on that day was centered on the popular Cinergy Hub.The new record dethrones the one previously set on Feb. 27, whenthe exchange saw 3 mmMWh in trading.

DPL reported yesterday that it has notched a record for earningsper share before extraordinary items in 2000 at $1.56, a 15%increase over the $1.35 mark the company posted for 1999. Likewise,the company beat 1999’s fourth quarter level of $0.27 per share by$0.10. For the fourth quarter, the company posted net income of $45million, compared to the 1999 level of $40.6 million. For the year2000, DPL’s net income was $199 million, which shows a slightdecrease from the $204.2 million the company showed in 1999. “Our2000 financial and operating results reflect the significant stepswe took in preparing the company for the deregulated energymarket,” said CEO Allen Hill. “In addition, our focus on merchantgeneration expansion will lead to continued industry leadinggrowth.” DPL expects 2001 earnings per share to increase more than20% from the $1.56 in 2000 to $1.90. In addition, DPL forecaststhat its earnings are expected to increase at an annual rate of atleast 10% after 2001, and could reach a rate of up to 15%.Ohio-based DPL has two subsidiaries, DPL Energy and Dayton Power& Light Co.

Feeding off gains notched Friday morning, natural gas futurespushed to fresh highs yesterday as funds and locals added to theirlong holdings. With that, the June contract has advanced 16 centsin the last two trading sessions to move past and settle above itsprevious life-of-contract high with a $3.216 closing price Monday.Estimated volume was light at 51,288 contracts despite theimpressive price move. An average trading day would see roughly20,000 more in estimated volume.

Feeding off gains notched during the Wednesday evening Accesssession, the futures market climbed higher yesterday as traderscovered shorts positions created during the recent dip. However,after failing to punch through resistance at $2.70 early, theNovember contract slipped in the afternoon before finishing at$2.642, a 4.1-cent advance on the day.

Feeding off late gains notched by the expiring April contractMonday, May kicked off its campaign as the spot month at Nymexyesterday by continuing higher in active trading. And whereas Aprilcontract made its mark in a late short squeeze, May was promptedhigher throughout the day by a steady stream of commercial andspeculative buying. Several sources also pointed to buy-stoporders, which were triggered as the market moved through the$1.93-95 range as a reason for the strength. May finished up 9.5cents at $1.978.