Unchanged

Proving the natural gas market’s current level of indecision, July natural gas futures traded a tight range on Tuesday before closing unchanged from Monday’s finish. The contract put in its $3.656 to $3.768 range in the first hour of the regular session, then wandered aimlessly before finishing at $3.731.

Excluding double-digit gains at Northeast citygates, only a few other points moved more than a dime up or down from unchanged Thursday. Friday’s low temperatures were predicted to get colder in the Midcontinent, Northeast, Midwest and Rockies, but they were often counterbalanced to some extent by forecasts of relatively moderate highs. Wednesday’s decline of 1.1 cents by March futures had scant impact in pushing the cash market either way.

Delivering a pre-holidays gift to the state’s consumers, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) in mid-December ordered keeping electric rates unchanged and decreasing retail natural gas rates for two utilities — Wisconsin Public Service Corp. (WPS) and Wisconsin Power & Light (WP&L). The changes are effective Thursday with the start of the new year.

Spot month natural gas futures settled unchanged, but more deferred contracts retreated in active trading Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Traders cited an interest by funds and managed accounts toward the sell side of the market, and in the longer term analysts suggested that if there were no major production-disrupting hurricanes this season, prices could fall more than another dollar.

Pacific Gas & Electric extended a systemwide high-inventory OFO through at least Wednesday; penalties were unchanged but the tolerance for positive daily imbalances was tightened slightly from 10% to 9%.

As a couple of sources had predicted the day before, the cash market remained close to unchanged Thursday in most cases. Freezing lows forecast for Friday morning in much of the East, even into the Deep South, were augmented by Wednesday’s screen rebound in being responsible for modest gains at a majority of points.

Utility credit ratings stayed unchanged in the fourth quarter last year, and they will continue on that track this year, according to a report by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services. Its title summarizes the rating agency’s conclusion that all is calm: “Despite Demands for Increased Capital Spending U.S. Utility Ratings Should Remain Stable.”

Utility credit ratings stayed unchanged in the fourth quarter last year, and they will continue on that track this year, according to a report released Friday by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services. Its title summarizes the rating agency’s conclusion that all is calm: “Despite Demands for Increased Capital Spending U.S. Utility Ratings Should Remain Stable.”

After running higher to record a $6.450 high on Thursday, February natural gas futures came off in the afternoon and settled at $6.162, nearly unchanged from Wednesday’s $6.163 close. Going forward, most weather forecasts for the heavy gas demand East continue to see warmer-than-normal temperatures, while AccuWeather meteorologist Joe Bastardi sees a bit of a cold snap hitting next week.