Reverse

Despite expectations of Old Man Winter’s arrival Friday in the upper Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast, spot prices were flat to down a few cents at most locations with even larger declines in the West where temperatures remained well above normal. The weekly gas storage report of a 1 Bcf withdrawal apparently had a little something for everyone on Thursday. It came in lower than many had expected and added a little bearish pressure to the cash market, but the withdrawal was bullish relative to the 33 Bcf injection during the same week last year, and that apparently was a factor in the 9.6 cent increase in December futures.

Favorable weather and lower interest rates helped natural gas distributor NiSource Inc. reverse year-ago quarterly losses. The Merrillville, IN-based company, which serves 3.7 million natural gas and electric customers from the Gulf Coast through the Midwest to New England, reported 3Q net income of $23.2 million (11 cents a share), compared with a net loss of $21 million (minus 10 cents) for the same period of 2001.

Favorable weather and lower interest rates helped natural gas distributor NiSource Inc. reverse year-ago quarterly losses. The Merrillville, IN-based company, which serves 3.7 million natural gas and electric customers from the Gulf Coast through the Midwest to New England, reported third quarter net income of $23.2 million (11 cents a share), compared with a net loss of $21 million (minus 10 cents) for the same period of 2001.

Thanks to the one-two punch of a much-below-expectations storage injection report and somewhat premature winter weather that was producing near-blizzard conditions in parts of the Upper Plains and Upper Midwest, spot prices spiked intensely Thursday for gains in excess of 40 cents nearly across the board.

Following on the heels of Thursday’s measly one-day, 0.2-cent price retracement, natural gas bears were up to their old tricks Friday as they pressured the futures market to a gap lower open on the daily charts. However, that would prove to be just about the extent of the selling because prices were able to ratchet higher from that point forward as traders covered shorts amid constructive weather outlooks. The October contract finished 1.5-cents weaker at $2.38 in holiday abbreviated trading.

Spurred by high gas prices over the last few months, GeorgiaSen. Regina Thomas (D-Savannah) is leading a charge to reverse the1997 deregulation legislation, and re-regulate natural gas in thestate.

Hoping to reverse the momentum of adverse court and regulatoryactions that have pushed it to the brink of bankruptcy, SouthernCalifornia Edison Monday won a U.S. District Court lawsuit againststate regulators, upholding the utility’s right to recoverreasonable costs for purchasing power.

Despite finally convincing Columbia Energy Group to completelyreverse its position and sell-out for about $72/share, $2/shareless than the previous tender offer, NiSource Inc. still faces asteep uphill battle to get the transaction approved by shareholdersand regulators, and to finance the deal, according to investmentbankers.

Cash prices started out Tuesday playing catch-up with the Nymexscreen’s late increases on Monday, but wound up either flat or withsmall gains after futures reversed field. Only supply-constrainedSumas managed an increase of more than about 4 cents, and numberswere down a few cents on some Rockies pipes and at NorthernCalifornia market points.