Tumbled

Aquila shares tumbled nearly 7% last Wednesday to $3.14 after a federal court ruling blocked the company from using $504 million in proceeds from the sale of its Canadian utility assets. ILA shares, however, rebounded back above $3.50 by Friday.

Aquila shares tumbled nearly 7% Wednesday to $3.14 after a federal court ruling blocked the company from using $504 million in proceeds from the sale of its Canadian utility assets. The court ruled in favor of Chubb Insurance Corp., which had argued that additional collateral was needed to cover Aquila’s contractual obligations to supply gas to a group of Nebraska municipal utility companies.

The shares of struggling NUI Corp. tumbled 18% Friday to $12.80 after the company suspended its dividend because of the new terms of amended credit agreements with lenders.

The shares of struggling NUI Corp. tumbled 18% Friday to $12.80 after the company suspended its dividend because of the new terms of amended credit agreements with lenders.

Cash prices tumbled 10-15 cents at nearly all locations across the country Wednesday in response to mild weather and early futures market weakness, but few observers seemed ready to call it a sign of an upcoming market reversal. In fact, the crude oil and gas futures markets ended the day even higher, leaving many in disbelief. June gas ended up 4.1 cents to $6.310, while June oil hit a new high for the contract of $39.30.

Royal Dutch/Shell Group’s share price tumbled Friday after announcing it would recategorize nearly 20% of its proved hydrocarbon reserves — about 3.9 billion boe. More than 90% of the total comes from a reduction in proved undeveloped reserves; the remainder in proved developed. The changes would trim proved reserves to 15.6 billion boe from the 19.5 billion boe the major estimated in December 2002.

Pressured by forecasts calling for mild temperatures for the remainder of the year, natural gas futures tumbled precipitously Monday in light, holiday week trading. The January contract, which is set to expire next Monday, experienced the worst of the selling as it dropped 9.4% or 65.8 cents to close at $6.324. At 64,257, estimated volume was light for the session considering the size of the price movement.

Pressured by forecasts for mild weather across much of the country, the natural gas futures market tumbled lower Monday as traders completely rescinded Friday’s gains.

For the third-straight trading session, natural gas futures tumbled early, but quickly stabilized Monday as traders continue to view the market with apprehension. On one side is the market’s seasonal tendency to rally in September; on the other is the bearish storage and weather outlook.