Prepared

Traders were prepared for anything Tuesday as the debate swirled on whether there would be enough momentum left from Monday’s natural gas futures price jump to fuel another round of short-covering. The answer, at least for now, is “no,” as the July contract dropped 12.7 cents to settle at $8.064.

With energy traders prepared to close the book on winter 2006-2007 weather, attention will now turn to what kind of spring is in store for the United States. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) 2007 Spring Outlook, April through June is expected to bring above-normal temperatures across a wide area of the country, from the West through the Plains and into the Southeast, while below-normal temperatures are likely for southwest California and Hawaii. The government forecasting firm said the remainder of the country, including the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and the tip of the Pacific Northwest, have equal chances of above-, near- or below-normal temperatures.

With energy traders prepared to close the book on winter 2006-2007 weather, attention will now turn to what kind of spring is in store for the United States. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) 2007 Spring Outlook, April through June is expected to bring above-normal temperatures across a wide area of the country, from the West through the Plains and into the Southeast, while below-normal temperatures are likely for southwest California and Hawaii. The government forecasting firm said the remainder of the country, including the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and the tip of the Pacific Northwest, have equal chances of above-, near- or below-normal temperatures.

March natural gas futures squeezed out a 2.8-cent gain Friday to close at $7.755 as traders prepared for the contract’s expiration Monday while trying to decipher what impact the weather picture for March will bring. Friday’s close was 25.2 cents higher than the previous week’s finish.

The New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) said Friday that its members are still prepared to vote Monday on the $1 billion-plus merger with Atlanta-based IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), despite pending legal action from a “substantial” number of NYBOT permit holders who feel they are being unfairly left out of the deal.

The New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) said Friday that its members are still prepared to vote Monday (Dec. 11) on the $1 billion-plus merger with Atlanta-based IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), despite pending legal action from a “substantial” number of NYBOT permit holders who feel they are being unfairly left out of the deal.

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox announced Tuesday he has filed testimony with state regulators prepared by three expert witnesses who together recommend cutting $68.7 million from a $132.4 million natural gas rate increase proposed by Consumers Energy Co.

As it prepared for a winter of discontent among retail natural gas customers, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. faced the year’s shortest day Wednesday acknowledging violations and accepting civil penalties handed out by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the giant combination utility’s mishandling of the record-keeping at its long-closed Humboldt Bay Nuclear Power Plant in the far northwest end of California.

FERC on Monday announced that a settlement was brokered with Reliant Energy to resolve claims stemming from its role in the 2000-2001 energy crisis on the West Coast.