Sparked

Natural gas futures jumped higher Wednesday afternoon in sympathy with a similar rise in the petroleum complex, which was sparked by an escalation of turmoil in Nigeria and U.S. refinery outages. After putting in a low of $6.560 in morning trade, June natural gas took off higher in the afternoon to record a high of $6.920 before closing at $6.900, up 31.9 cents on the day.

As a glaring footnote to natural gas price volatility sparked immediately after the two big Gulf of Mexico hurricanes late last summer, Portland, OR-based Northwest Natural Gas Co. and some of its largest customers are locked in a dispute over retail natural gas deals the utility offered them.

Sparked by continued uncertainty surrounding Hurricane Katrina’s impact on production infrastructure and buoyed by significant petroleum price strength, October natural gas futures in their first day as front-month contract on Tuesday climbed higher to settle at a record $11.659, up 52 cents from Monday’s close.

Sparked by a rush from funds to cover their short positions, August natural gas futures on Tuesday morning exploded to the upside, notching a high trade of $8.10 as of 10:53 a.m. EDT. The prompt month slipped under the psychological $8.00 level in the afternoon, but still managed to finish strong on the day at $7.885, up 39 cents from Monday’s settle.

Sparked by continued strength in the petroleum complex along with the release of a bullish Atlantic hurricane forecast, May natural gas futures on Friday retained — and continued to build on — their gains for the week.

Proposed improvements to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) storage survey process sparked a debate among industry and government representatives on a panel examining natural gas market data Monday during the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Natural Gas Conference.

Municipals on the losing end of a price spike sparked by an erroneous storage report petitioned FERC commissioners Friday to act immediately to require daily storage reports. Joining industrial and chemical customers who issued their protests a day earlier, the American Public Gas Association (APGA) said consumers will pay almost a billion extra dollars for their natural gas in December due to the incorrect report, which was released just prior to Thanksgiving (see Daily GPI, Dec. 3).

Municipals on the losing end of a price spike sparked by an erroneous storage report petitioned FERC commissioners Friday to act immediately to require daily storage reports. Joining industrial and chemical customers who issued their protests a day earlier, the American Public Gas Association (APGA) said consumers will pay almost a billion extra dollars for their natural gas in December due to the incorrect report, which was released just prior to Thanksgiving (see Daily GPI, Dec. 3).

Sparked by a massive price drop in December crude, November natural gas futures dropped below $8 for the second time in three days to hit a low of $7.50 as of 2:20 p.m. (EDT). The November contract expired Wednesday at $7.626, down 77.6 cents.