Speculation

Speculation was put to rest Thursday that El Paso Corp.’s Ruby Pipeline project might not be a go. Company officials said everything is on track for the 680-mile pipeline, which would carry natural gas supplies from the Rockies to the West Coast.

As Congress debated measures to rein in “excessive” energy futures market speculation last week, an Interagency Task Force on Commodity Markets, chaired by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), released an interim staff report that found fundamental supply and demand factors are largely the cause of escalating oil prices in the futures market.

President Bush Tuesday dismissed Democrats’ claims that domestic producers are not actively pursuing their oil and natural gas leases and that excessive speculation is responsible for escalating crude oil prices.

Senate Republicans blocked a recent attempt by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) to win expedited approval of a bill that sought to wring out “excessive” speculation and possible manipulation in the energy futures markets that Democrats contend are responsible for record high crude oil prices, which eclipsed $143 a barrel early Monday.

Senate Republicans Friday blocked an attempt by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) to win expedited approval of a bill that sought to wring out “excessive” speculation and possible manipulation in the energy futures markets that Democrats contend are responsible for record high crude oil prices, which eclipsed $143 a barrel early Monday.

Piggybacking on the $2.69/bbl July crude futures gain, stifling heat in a number of key regions and widespread speculation on storm rumblings in the tropics, July natural gas futures on Monday once again punched above the psychological $13 barrier. After trading between $13.029 and $13.266, the prompt-month contract finished the day’s regular session at $13.203, up 20.9 cents from Friday’s finish.

As a congressional committee zeroed in on skyrocketing oil prices, leveling accusations of excessive speculation, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) last week announced that its staff has amended the “no-action relief letter” under which ICE Futures Europe is permitted direct access to U.S. customers. The change requires the adoption of equivalent U.S. position limits and accountability levels on its West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil contract, which is linked to the Nymex crude oil contract.

As a congressional committee zeroed in on skyrocketing oil prices, leveling accusations of excessive speculation, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that its staff has amended the “no-action relief letter” under which ICE Futures Europe is permitted direct access to U.S. customers. The change requires the adoption of equivalent U.S. position limits and accountability levels on its West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil contract, which is linked to the Nymex crude oil contract.

Following months of unconfirmed speculation that Nymex Holdings might be on the sale block (see NGI, June 18), the parent company of the New York Mercantile Exchange, a global energy exchange powerhouse, confirmed last month that the company has been in talks with “certain parties” with regard to a “potential business combination.”