Soared

Natural gas spot prices soared 25-60 cents Monday in response to the National Hurricane Center’s (NHC) new route forecast for terrible Hurricane Ivan, which could make a grazing hit on eastern Gulf oil and gas projection facilities.

TXU shares soared last week after it announced the sale of its Australian energy assets and its Texas midstream gas business for $4.2 billion. The two deals are among several transactions proposed in a major corporate restructuring orchestrated by new CEO John Wilder to put TXU back on solid financial ground.

TXU shares soared 13% Monday after it announced the sale of its Australian energy assets and its Texas midstream gas business for $4.2 billion. The two deals are among several transactions proposed in a major corporate restructuring orchestrated by new CEO John Wilder to put TXU back on solid financial ground.

Crosstex Energy Inc. shares soared 30%, or $5.85, to $25.35 last Tuesday in an initial day of trading on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol XTXI. Dallas-based Crosstex, which owns and controls the general partner share of midstream operator Crosstex Energy LP with a 54% stake, priced the initial public offering of 2.3 million shares of common stock at $19.50.

Crosstex Energy Inc. shares soared 30%, or $5.85, to $25.35 Tuesday in an initial day of trading on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol XTXI. Dallas-based Crosstex, which owns and controls the general partner share of midstream operator Crosstex Energy LP with a 54% stake, priced the initial public offering of 2.3 million shares of common stock at $19.50.

Post-weekend weather turned out to be considerably colder than many were expecting, and prices soared Monday in response. Several Northeast citygates led the pack with spikes of about 75 cents, while the PG&E citygate brought up the rear with a gain slightly shy of 20 cents. Western points in general tended to see most of the smallest upticks.

Feeding off Thursday’s late-day price surge, the natural gas futures market soared higher Friday as fund traders covered shorts on increasingly constructive technical factors. The rally came as a surprise to traders — many of whom had favored a delayed bearish reaction to the seemingly price-negative storage news received by the market Thursday morning (32 Bcf injection).

Peoples Energy earnings soared compared to year-ago results, which were negatively impacted by one-time charges for uncollectible accounts in its Chicago gas distribution business. Net income for its fiscal 2003 third quarter ended June 30 was $8 million, or $0.22/share, compared with $1.3 million, or $0.04/share, for the prior year third quarter. Wall Street analysts had been expecting 26 cents/share, according to Thomson Financial’s First Call.

As shoulder-month natural gas futures prices soared past $6 last week, some market bears lambasted producers and analysts for a “propaganda campaign” that has “exaggerated” the low gas supply situation and the need for gas demand destruction this year (see NGI, May 12). The bears believe that it’s only a matter of time before the market realizes the folly of being at these prices during a shoulder month in a struggling economy. That realization may have started to take place last Thursday when prices began to tumble but stalled just above $6.