Southwest Energy Up As Natural Gas Futures Rise

Southwestern Energy Company

stock is up 3 percent on Thursday, as natural gas and oil prices rallied on the possibilities that colder weather may arrive in North America and Europe. SWN's stock rose sharply to 6.84 percent in Thursday's pre-market trading session. Oil prices have fallen more than 3 percent since government data indicated that United States crude stockpiles unexpectedly rose in the last week. U.S. commercial crude inventories jumped by 2.6 million barrels in the week through December 25, according to the Energy Information Administration. For the week ending Friday, December 18, natural gas prices were at 16-year low. Futures prices had also settled at their lowest level since March 1999, with a near-month contract settling at $1.790/MMBtu December 16. According to data from

, the total oil and natural gas rig count fell by 28 units this week, with 709 units in service for the week ending Friday, December 11. This was the lowest combined oil and natural rig count since September 1999. Southwestern Energy shares were lower at -6.95 percent following buying and selling at $6.29 with volume of 15.54 million shares. The Company has a 52-week range of $5.00 to $29.61. SWN traded down 6.8 percent on Wednesday. The company has traded 395,019 shares to date. Southwestern Energy Company develops, explores, and produces natural gas and oil in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Midstream Services; and Exploration, Development and Production.