Steer

With Hurricane Gustav now in the rear-view mirror and tropical storms Hanna, Ike and Josephine all currently expected to steer clear of the Gulf of Mexico, energy futures across the board let off some steam on Tuesday. October natural gas spiraled 68.2 cents lower to close at $7.261/MMBtu while October crude dropped $5.75 to finish at $109.71/bbl.

ConocoPhillips on Friday was warning its shareholders to steer clear of an unsolicited “mini-tender offer” by TRC Capital Corp. to purchase up to 1.5 million shares, or approximately 0.09%, of ConocoPhillips’ outstanding common stock.

After natural gas futures played dead on Monday with minimal activity in either direction, traders were awaiting a spark to steer the market’s next direction. They got that spark Tuesday as AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center Chief Forecaster Joe Bastardi warned that the U.S. Gulf Coast, which avoided the wrath of major storms and hurricanes in 2006, is at much higher risk of destructive tropical weather this year (see related story). April natural gas, which expires Wednesday, soared to a high of $7.530 Tuesday before settling at $7.503, up 24.9 cents on the day. The May contract, which takes over front-month status in after-hours trading Wednesday, added 23.2 cents Tuesday to finish at $7.615. However, prices pushed even higher late Tuesday afternoon in Globex trading due to an unsubstantiated rumor out of the Middle East.

A former pipeline lobbyist has been tapped to steer the NaturalGas Supply Association (NGSA) back on course following the scandalin which its former president, Nicholas J. Bush, allegedly swindled$2.8 million from the group.

A former pipeline lobbyist has been tapped to steer the NaturalGas Supply Association (NGSA) back on course following the scandalin which its former president, Nicholas J. Bush, allegedly swindledit out of about $2.8 million.