Price

Eastern Enterprises stock price jumped more than 10% yesterdayto $43.62/share on news it is evaluating strategic alternativesthat could include share repurchases, joint ventures or a sale ofall or part of the company.

The overall cash market drifted lower Friday, with quotesranging from essentially flat into Northwest for both domestic andCanadian gas to nearly 15 cents lower at the PG&E citygate. Thegeneral softness primarily was a function of the usual weekenddropoff in gas load, sources said.

Natural Gas Intelligence the weekly gas market newsletterpublished : August 16, 1999

The price tug of war continued yesterday in the natural gas pitat Nymex, but in contrast to the previous seven sessions, bearswere victorious Wednesday as commercial sellers were too much forlocal buyers. After it was apparent the highs for the day had beenset, locals quickly changed their colors and were seen adding tothe selling pressure in a round of afternoon profit-taking. TheSeptember contract slid sharply at the close, settling down 4.4cents at $2.704.

Eastern markets emerged from the weekend without seeing anyrebound from Friday’s slump. Prices continued to decline by mostlysmall amounts, with various points ranging from flat to just over anickel lower. A small futures drop contributed to the cashbearishness, traders said, but more than anything else it was arelative dearth of air conditioning load that sent prices down.

Cash quotes were mildly softer Monday, with price movementranging from none (flat) to down about a nickel. A July futuresdrop of just over 7 cents was the obvious explanation for cashweakness to many sources. A Houston-based aggregator asserted that”lack of weather” in both the Gulf Coast production area andNortheast market area exacerbated the screen’s negative influence.Forecasts continue to call for hotter temperatures later this week,he said, “but it’s not happening yet.” Even with Monday being theofficial start date for summer, recent high thermometer readings inthe South are only rarely getting above the 80s, he said.

Enough gas got traded early Thursday at prices within a penny ortwo of flat that late weakness reported at many points failed todrag down averages from Wednesday. However, the late downturns weretaken as a harbinger of continued softening today, especially withthe market subject to the normal drop in weekend demand. Themarket felt kind of juiced up Wednesday but was losing its steamThursday, according to a Southwest trader. He saw “some realsoftness” at the end in Permian Basin.

Although Avista Corp. has yet to garner much attention on WallStreet, the company is expecting its share price will rise as itsstrategy unfolds. Corporate strategy views technology and billconsolidation services as the gateway to a significant nationwidemarketing presence.

Natural gas futures continued lower yesterday and were able tobreak through a key support level. The June contract finished 4.5cents lower at $2.191 after mapping out a $2.17 low for the day.