NEI's Energy Markets Report - October 22 - 26, 2007

Here's a summary of what went on in the energy markets last week:

Electricity peak prices at the listed hubs below decreased about $4-15/MWh except for Palo Verde and SP 15. Cooler temperatures played a role in falling prices at the Eastern and ERCOT hubs. Four out of seven nuclear reactors in the Western region were down for most of the week which contributed to moderate price increases at the SP 15 and Palo Verde hubs (Platts, see pages 1 and 3).

Gas prices at the Henry Hub fell from $6.92/MMBtu to $6.55/MMBtu. Moderate weather is considered the cause for declining gas prices for the week (EIA). Gas futures also fell $0.33 to $7.01/MMBtu for November (see pages 1, 2 and 3).

NOx allowance prices fell $100 to $770/ton last week (see pages 1 and 3).

Estimated nuclear plant availability slipped from 83 to 82 percent last week with two reactors beginning and three reactors finishing refueling outages. Palo Verde 1 was offline to repair an auxiliary feedwater pump (see pages 2 and 4).

Uranium spot prices rose to $84 and $85/lb U3O8 according to TradeTech and UxConsulting. “Several new buyers have returned to the (uranium) market over the past couple of weeks, further signifying the belief that the spot market has hit its near-term bottom” (UxC). U3O8 prices have risen $10 over the past four weeks from a low of $75/lb U3O8 (see pages 1 and 3).

Crude oil prices rose to $87.80/barrel last week. For perspective, the cost of crude oil imports in 1980 (the highest year so far) was $84.40/barrel after adjusting for inflation to preliminary 2007 dollars using the Consumer Price Index (see pages 1 and 3).

For the report click here. It is also located on NEI's Financial Center webpage.