NEI's Energy Markets Report - December 10 - December 14, 2007

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

Electricity peak prices increased at all hubs except for PJM West. The NEPOOL hub rose another $11/MWh due to the wintry temperatures over the past two weeks. The PJM West hub fell $17/MWh after season temperatures returned to normal. The other four hubs modestly increased between $0.26-$9/MWh (Platts, see
pages 1 and 3).

Gas prices at the Henry Hub decreased $0.06 to $7.13/MMBtu. Gas futures prices for January 2008 averaged $7.15/MMBtu. EIA forecasts gas prices at $8.04/MMBtu for January 2008 (see pages 1 and 3).

Estimated nuclear plant availability rose to 95 percent last week. Pilgrim was at zero percent power for two days. Only four reactors remain in refueling outages (see pages 2 and 4).

Crude oil prices fell nearly $4 to $88.71/barrel (see pages 1 and 3). Residential heating oil prices resumed their upward course for the season and reached a new record high during the period ending December 17, 2007. The average residential heating oil price increased by 3.5 cents last week to reach 329.4 cents per gallon, an increase of 85.0 cents from this time last year (EIA).

The spot price of uranium fell to $90/lb U3O8. According to UxC, spot activity remains limited, with more supply available than demand. A retreat in demand similar to that experienced over the summer has resulted in weakness in the spot price over the past two weeks. According to TradeTech, several sellers, prompted by cash requirements, have entered the market in recent weeks in an effort to place material before year-end resulting in lower prices.

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