Shorter

Prices fell at a large majority of points Wednesday as North America’s latest siege of frigid weather was expected to be less severe and of shorter duration than the one that proved to be so troublesome a week earlier. Many traders were looking ahead to next week when the forecast calls for above-normal temperatures in much of the eastern two-thirds of the U.S.; moderation will already be under way in many areas by the weekend.

There is no green bullet that will allow various alternative energy and efficiency technologies to replace fossil fuels, which are in shorter supply than most people will acknowledge, according to a report from a six-year-old California think tank, the Post Carbon Institute, and a more mature International Forum on Globalization (IFG), founded in the early 1990s in San Francisco. As a result, the world generally has far less time than is currently thought for an energy “transition” period, an official with the institute told NGI Friday.

Caught between longer-term bearish fundamental market conditions and shorter-term bullish technical factors, the natural gas futures market chopped sideways to higher in relatively light trading activity Tuesday. And while neither side could claim the day as a victory, the market finished on a positive note, with the June contract ekeing out a 3-cent advance to close at $6.476.

Spurred by losses notched in overnight Access trading, the natural gas futures market continued to free-fall Monday as fund traders re-acquired their short holdings just as quickly as they had exited them earlier this month.

With a holiday weekend spent mulling sub-$4.00 natural gas under their belts, traders at the New York Mercantile Exchange wasted little time taking the June contract for one last ride lower Tuesday, as they demoted the prompt month through several levels of support. By virtue of its $3.738 final closing price, the June contract limped off the board with a 23.5-cent loss for the day, resting a whopping $1.203 lower than where it was when it began its tenure as prompt contract at Nymex a month ago.

As tempers continue to get shorter in the midst of California’senergy predicament, the state’s two major investor-owned utilitiesbutted heads this week on a natural gas issue created as anoffshoot of the persistent electricity woes in the state. Itinvolves Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s emergency filing to stateregulators Jan. 18 asking for Southern California Gas Co. to giveit some supplies in the face of its looming shortages, promptingSoCalGas to protest the request.