Release

The Committee of Chief Risk Officers (CCRO) says it expects to have new guidelines in place by the end of January for companies submitting data to energy pricing publications and for the publications themselves. At a meeting Wednesday in Houston, a technical working group made up of members of CCRO companies and representatives of pricing publications “moved in the right direction,” according to Mike Smith, the CCRO’s executive director.

In a press release ostensibly to announce a stock issuance to improve its liquidity and pay down some debt, TXU Corp. acknowledged Monday that it has received an informal data request from the Securities and Exchange Commission that asks the company to “voluntarily provide documents related to its recent dividend declaration.” TXU said it would comply fully with the request, and does not anticipate “any adverse consequences.”

Despite the release of a storage report featuring a larger-than-expected 48 Bcf injection, natural gas futures spiked to new 16-month highs Thursday morning amid a frenzy of buying from all market segments — funds, locals and commercials. Modest profit-taking trimmed gains in the afternoon, but the was unable to erase bulls’ work. At $4.299, November finished 7.2 cents higher for the session.

The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) is scheduled to release a new study Tuesday that documents the adverse impacts of electric and natural gas market restructuring on some residential consumers. The five-state study is the first product of an on-going project to examine the impacts of restructuring on residential consumers, particularly low- and moderate-income households.

In a stunningly well-mannered reaction, considering what the market sometimes does after receiving fresh fundamental news, natural gas futures dipped slightly lower Thursday morning as traders learned that a larger-than-expected 68 Bcf was added to underground storage facilities last week. By 11:20 a.m. EDT the June contract had carved out its low for the session, leaving the prompt month to shuffle sideways within an extremely tight 5-cent range for the rest of the day. June settled at $3.438, down 2.1 cents from Wednesday’s close.

Following the release of some of the most price-constructive medium range weather forecasts thus far this winter, natural gas futures shuffled higher Thursday. Continued short-covering pressure was enough to promote prices to new six-week highs for the third day in a row. However, the buying was done in an orderly manner, and because it was almost evenly matched by local and commercial selling, the day’s gains were limited. The March contract settled at $2.425, up 4 cents for the session. By virtue of yesterday’s 118,144 figure, estimated volume has easily eclipsed the 100,000 mark each day this week.

Adding to losses suffered following the release of fresh storage data Wednesday, natural gas futures continued lower Thursday as traders managed to look past the Enron debacle to focus on the wealth of fundamental and technical factors — all of which point to lower prices. Following in the footsteps of the December contract, January shuffled lower in an organized manner Thursday to close with a 17.1-cent loss at $2.561.

Pressured by the release of another in a string of bearish weather forecasts and in sympathy with losses seen in the nearby crude oil pit, natural gas futures plumbed new three-week lows Monday, as traders continued to liquidate longs acquired during the month of October. The December contract never recovered from its 7-cent gap-lower open and finished with a 19.2-cent loss at $2.733.

In a preemptive move ahead of what could be another bearish storage release today, natural gas futures slipped lower yesterday as profit-takers rescinded advances achieved in Monday’s expiration session. The December contract began its tenure as prompt month in dramatic fashion, gapping lower at the open en route to a 15.6-cent decline and $3.183 close.