Opposite

In separate announcements from opposite ends of the country, the state of Washington and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) moved forward with plans to reduce, or eliminate altogether, their reliance on coal to produce energy.

In separate announcements from opposite ends of the country, the state of Washington and the Tennessee Valley Authority moved forward with plans to reduce, or eliminate altogether, their reliance on coal to produce energy.

Three failed attempts at conquering $5 appeared to be the limit as the July natural gas futures contract on Wednesday headed in the opposite direction. The prompt-month contract traded in a $4.667 to $4.836 range before closing out the regular session at $4.677, down 13.1 cents from Tuesday’s finish.

Weekend prices showed almost a directly opposite pattern from deals done a day earlier. Whereas Northeast citygates had spiked Thursday while the rest of the market was softer, on Friday it was the Northeast (along with the Rockies) plunging while all other points were rising, based largely on the bullish Nymex response to Thursday morning’s storage withdrawal report.

After trading mostly together over the last few weeks, natural gas and crude futures moved in opposite directions on Wednesday as November natural gas climbed 29 cents to close at $7.728 and November crude — pressured by a stout build in inventories — dropped $2.11 to close back under the $100/bbl mark at $98.53/bbl.

While the stock market tumbled lower Wednesday on more financial crisis news, energy futures and other commodities headed in the opposite direction on the day as investors sought refuge in tangible goods. In the second worst session of the year, Dow industrials fell more than 400 points, while October natural gas surged 63.1 cents higher to close at $7.910/MMBtu and October crude gained $6.01 to finish at $97.16/bbl.

A couple of Pacific Northwest utilities were sent in opposite directions by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services Thursday as the credit rating agency boosted Spokane, WA-based Avista Corp. one notch to “BBB-” and Cascade Natural Gas Corp. was granted its request to withdraw its “BBB+” corporate and senior unsecured debt rating.

On the heels of El Nino, its opposite La Nina may soon arrive, which could increase hurricane activity in the Atlantic Ocean, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). After getting a free pass last year with less activity than expected, Gulf of Mexico oil and natural gas producers in 2007 could be looking at a storm season more on par with the devastating one seen in 2005. In addition, electricity consumers could feel the price pinch if the western drought associated with La Nina episodes reduces hydropower capacity.

On the heels of El Nino, its opposite La Nina may soon arrive, which could increase hurricane activity in the Atlantic Ocean, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). After getting a free pass last year with less activity than expected, Gulf of Mexico oil and natural gas producers in 2007 could be looking at a storm season more on par with the devastating one seen in 2005. In addition, electricity consumers could feel the price pinch if the western drought associated with La Nina episodes reduces hydropower capacity.