Hedges Pay Off for Natural Gas Producers

For oil and natural gas companies, the budding crackdown on U.S. energy markets comes at an awkward time. Producers are relying more than ever on the futures markets to hedge the risk that prices will fall, even as regulators take aim at energy traders in an effort to blunt the sort of spikes that hit consumers last year. Recent earnings reports from a number of U.S. companies including El Paso Corp., XTO Energy Inc., and Chesapeake Energy Corp. showed a big boost from deals that locked in high prices for natural gas before that market sank to seven year lows.....Complete Story