Ranges

FERC Thursday issued two orders that will allow Questar Pipeline Co. and Chipeta Processing LLC to modify their facilities to provide producers in the Uinta Basin with greater transportation and cryogenic processing capability for liquids-rich natural gas.

Williams credited strong results in all of its core gas businesses and the absence of a $248.7 million litigation charge in 2Q2006 for substantially improved second quarter results. Net income was $433.1 million (71 cents/share) compared with a net loss of $76 million (-13 cents/share) in 2Q2006.

Williams credited strong results in all of its core gas businesses and the absence of a $248.7 million litigation charge in 2Q2006 for substantially improved second quarter results. Net income was $433.1 million (71 cents/share) compared with a net loss of $76 million (-13 cents/share) in 2Q2006.

Taking a break from the large daily terading ranges of the last few weeks, traders used Tuesday’s session to catch their breath and regroup. After trading within a slim 16-cent range during Tuesday’s regular session, September natural gas ended up closing out the day at $6.861, down 5.2 cents from Monday.

After trading within one of its smallest ranges in months, February natural gas futures on Tuesday basically called the day a wash, settling 2.4 cents lower at $9.336. Trading flip-flopped from gains to losses for a majority of the session while remaining within a tight 27-cent range from $9.280 to $9.550.

In trading ranges that were stretched extensively due to post-storage report dives, cash prices were rather indecisive Thursday, ranging up and down from flat by up to a dime in both directions. Small gains tended to outweigh small losses.

Pressured by follow-through selling on the heels of Wednesday’sstorage report, and amid crashing cash market values, the naturalgas futures market tumbled lower Thursday as weak longs continuedto head for the exits. After gapping lower at the open, theFebruary contract checked sideways-to-lower throughout the day tofinish at $8.708, down 42 cents on the session.

Futures succumbed to another major technical correctionyesterday as the July contract gapped 2.5 cents lower at the openand dropped a dime early on before plummeting after the AGA gasstorage report came out at 2 p.m. At the end of the regular tradingsession, July was down 34.9 cents, August had dropped 35.1 centsand September was off 33.1 cents. The July contract had a 39-centrange for the day, trading as high as $4.335 and as low as $3.930.

Trading at the New York Mercantile Exchange for the month ofFebruary has featured tight but choppy ranges punctuated by smalldecreases when sellers slightly outnumbered the buyers in themarket. And yesterday’s expiration-day session was simply amicrocosm of that as the March contract was the focus of a fierce,and mostly balanced battle, which was ultimately decided by sellerslate in the day. The March contract concluded its reign as promptmonth with a 4.4-cent decline to settle at $1.666.