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Energy stocks fared fairly well yesterday — i.e. losses were moderate — during the first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange following the terrorist attacks last Tuesday that left a gaping hole in New York City’s financial district. There were only a few companies that escaped red ink, but the across-the-board losses for the most part stayed in the moderate range.

Despite only the most marginal firming of weather fundamentals and a softer screen during the morning, nearly all cash points ranged from flat to about a dime higher Tuesday. Most softening was fairly negligible except for double-digit drops at Sumas, Stanfield, Malin and intra-Alberta, which were due largely to cool Pacific Northwest weather, a NOVA tolerance change Sunday to 0/-20% and a constraint on PG&E Gas Transmission-Northwest deliveries (see Transportation Notes).

There were no expiration day heroics for bulls Wednesday. Despite the bullish combination of extremely oversold conditions and modestly constructive storage data, natural gas futures tumbled again as traders used the September contract as a battering ram to reach a new 19-month low. Including Wednesday’s 12-cent decline and $2.295 close, the September contract suffered losses in each of its last 10 trading sessions, trimming a whopping $1.17 or 34% from its Aug. 15 value.

The cash market’s slide continued unabated in post-weekend trading, with some points plumbing depths they had not seen in nearly a year and a half. Declines tended to be smallest at Rockies/San Juan and California points because temperatures were getting hotter in the region again, especially in the desert Southwest where highs topped 100 degrees.

Royal Dutch/Shell Group’s new Chairman Phil Watts, who assumed the post at the world’s second largest energy company July 1, said the company’s production goals through the rest of 2001 will be met, but admitted that its future expansion could slow because of the sagging world economy. Watts, who inherited a company that has been knocked back in several takeover attempts recently, nonetheless noted recently that natural gas “is plainly the fuel of the future and we are well placed to be part of that future.”

Royal Dutch/Shell Group’s new Chairman Phil Watts, who assumed the post at the world’s second largest energy company July 1, said the company’s production goals through the rest of 2001 will be met, but admitted that its future expansion could slow because of the sagging world economy. Watts, who inherited a company that has been knocked back in several takeover attempts recently, nonetheless noted Thursday that natural gas “is plainly the fuel of the future and we are well placed to be part of that future.”

Natural gas futures traders have, over the course of the last decade, demonstrated the uncanny ability to look past an in-your-face fundamental indicator and focus instead on an obscure technical benchmark or their perception of data yet-to-be-released. Yesterday was a textbook example of the latter being played out as traders ignored another hefty storage injection to focus instead on their expectations of next week’s release. This was evident in the market’s price action late yesterday afternoon as the August contract rebounded from its pre-AGA lows to finish with a 6-cent gain at $3.342.

The cash market again baffled many Thursday with its ability to keep rising on either side of a low-demand holiday, especially with little help from weather fundamentals (except in the West) or the screen. At least a couple of traders think reality will set in today with falling prices.

Rebounding from a post-AGA sell off, natural gas futures clawed higher late yesterday as traders failed to demote prices beneath support at $4.05 for the second day in a row. At the closing bell, June futures were a penny lower for the session at $4.113. Estimated volume was relatively light considering the price action as only 66,491 contracts changed hands.