Posted

TransCanada has posted short-term firm transportation servicefor November 2000 through March 2001, and is accepting bids through3 p.m. MDT today. Because TransCanada does not yet have NationalEnergy Board-approved tolls beyond the end of 2000, all of the bidsfor capacity may be adjusted for bids that extend beyond Jan. 1.

Despite a substantial 16-cent range, the futures market postedits smallest daily move of the entire week on Friday with July onlymanaging a 2.7 cent gain to end the regular trading session at$4.160. August rose 3.5 cents to $4.140. The 12-month strip inchedup to $3.938.

Despite warming temperatures, both forecasted and actual, thenatural gas market posted its second day of gains Thursday in atechnically driven trading session. After a strong open, theDecember contract received a boost from short covering by tradersbetting that the market may have reached a short-term bottom in thelow $2.40s. The prompt month finished at $2.496, up 4 cents on theday.

Northern Natural Gas said it lifted a System Underrun Limitationthat had been posted for Tuesday and today.

As many had expected, the cash market retreated slightlyThursday from the early May aftermarket peaks posted Wednesday. Thedecline was moderate with most points off anywhere from a penny ortwo to just over a nickel.

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.

The recently joined Altra Energy Technologies and QuickTrade LLCposted record gas trading volumes Jan. 28 when their combinedtrading systems reached 30 Bcf in deals. Previous record volumesfor the stand-alone companies when combined were less than 30 Bcf,said Altra Chairman Rusty Braziel

The futures market spiked higher in trading Thursday, adding togains posted Wednesday evening as traders pointed to a host ofbullish factors. A “startling storage report,” continuedshort-covering, and a increasing supportive technical picture wereall cited as reasons for the advance. That prompted both theOctober and November contract to 12.5-cent gains, settling at$1.958 and $2.207 respectively.

For the second week in a row, the futures market was unable tobuild on advances posted early in the week, and after the Septembercontract flirted with, but did not break through resistanceTuesday, again came under significant selling pressure that leftthe prompt month down 8.3 cents to settle at $1.812.