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Gas Transmission Northwest (GTN), the former regional interstate natural gas pipeline company for PG&E Corp., jumped up five notches from a “CC” to “A-” credit rating under Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services’ system, reflecting its new standing as a wholly owned part of TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. However, S&P designated the pipeline’s outlook as “negative,” reflecting TransCanada’s own similar outlook and what the rating agency called “an above-average business profile and a somewhat weak financial profile.”

Gas Transmission Northwest (GTN), the former regional interstate natural gas pipeline company for PG&E Corp., jumped up five notches from a “CC” to “A-” credit rating under Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services’ system, reflecting its new standing as a wholly owned part of TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. However, S&P designated the pipeline’s outlook as “negative,” reflecting TransCanada’s own similar outlook and what the rating agency called “an above-average business profile and a somewhat weak financial profile.”

After slipping lower Wednesday morning in concert with weaker crude oil futures, the natural gas futures market stair-stepped higher in the afternoon to post a positive close for the session. Although slight, the 0.8-cent advance was the fifth-straight daily advance for the November contract. It finished at $5.148, up nearly 60 cents from last Thursday’s $4.565 low.

In a surprising show of strength considering the weak underlying cash prices and a bearish storage report (7 Bcf injection) announced Thursday morning, natural gas futures rallied back to the mid-$5.20s late Thursday morning. However, buying dried up for the expiring April contract and sellers were waiting to push it lower at the closing bell. At $5.146, April completed its tenure as prompt month up 4.9 cents on the day, but down 30% since becoming prompt month. The new prompt month, May, surged 9.3 cents to close at $5.24.

California regulators are scheduled to move natural gas industryrestructuring a few more notches forward this week, but not withoutmaking still more modifications as suggested by additional commentsfiled last week.

California regulators are scheduled to move natural gas industryrestructuring a few more notches forward this week, but not withoutmaking still more modifications as suggested by additional commentsfiled last week.