Commodity	Price	Change %	12-Month Trend
WTI CRUDE PROMPT ($/bbl)	75.02	1.48
EUROPE BRENT SPOT PRICE FOB ($/barrel)	75.51	-0.72
NATURAL GAS PROMPT ($/MMBtu)	3.75	-0.27
No. 2 HEATING OIL PROMPT ($/gal.)	2.06	0.97
PJM-PSE&G AVERAGE DAY-AHEAD ELECTRICITY ($/MWH)	75.92	8.47
NYISO - Zone J Day-Ahead Electricity ($/kWh)	70.38	1.25
NEPOOL - Mass Hub Average Day-Ahead Electricity ($/MWH)	64.12	-17.23

News

Chinese lull pushes price of coal downward
(Financial Times) Coal prices have declined by nearly 10 per cent from the years high as surging hydroelectricity supplies in China curb the countrys appetite for overseas coal. China has become a key factor in global coal prices as the country swings from exporter to importer amid surging demand for power and on the back of a clampdown on illegal and unsafe mining in Shanxi province, the key producing area.

Research says climate change undeniable
(Financial Times) International scientists have injected fresh evidence into the debate over global warming, saying that climate change is undeniable and shows clear signs of human fingerprints in the first major piece of research since the Climategate controversy. The research, headed by the US National Oceans and Atmospheric Administration, is based on new data not available for the UNs Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report of 2007, the target of attacks by sceptics in recent years.

China now worlds biggest energy user
(Financial Times) China overtook the US last year to become the worlds biggest energy user, the International Energy Agency revealed on Monday. Beijings new status is expected to make it even more influential in global energy markets, in determining prices and how it is used.

GDF Suez hopes to achieve the right spark
(Financial Times) The head of GDF Suez was on Monday locked in a meeting with his board of directors preparing to make an initial proposal to Britains International Power for a partnership that would create one of the worlds biggest independent power generators. Mr Mestrallet has long hankered after International Power and never gave up hope that a deal could be struck, even after the two sides abandoned talks in January following leaks and failure to agree terms.

Senate Democrats to Pursue a Smaller Energy Bill
(The New York Times) WASHINGTON, President Obama and Senate Democrats have decided to press ahead in the next two weeks with a scaled-back energy bill that limits carbon pollution by power plants but not by other industries in an effort to salvage the legislation before midterm elections.

China Fears Consumer Impact on Global Warming
(The New York Times) GUANGZHOU, China Premier Wen Jiabao has promised to use an iron hand this summer to make his nation more energy efficient. The central government has ordered cities to close inefficient factories by September, like the vast Guangzhou Steel mill here, where most of the 6,000 workers will be laid off or pushed into early retirement.

Shell Buying an Oil and Gas Firm for $4.7 Billion
(The New York Times) Royal Dutch Shell, the British-Dutch oil and gas producer, said Friday that it had struck a deal to buy most of the assets of East Resources for $4.7 billion in cash, moving into the coveted sector of natural gas contained in shale deposits.

Electricity and development in China
(The Economist) AFTER a brief blip caused by the global economic slowdown, the electricity business in China is back to normal: in other words, it is buzzing. On April 26th Huaneng Power, the countrys biggest utility, began work on a nuclear reactor on the island of Hainan. The week before, the firm had announced that its power output had risen by 40% during the first quarter. The day before that, Datang International Power, the second-largest utility, had said its output was up by 33%. Surges of this magnitude, unimaginable in most countries, are commonplace in China.

Hell of a Year for Hurricanes Expert Warns
(MSNBC) The threat of an above average 2010 Atlantic hurricane season has increased over the last month and it now promises to be very active two leading forecasters said Wednesday.

Highly productive
(Financial Times) Until a few weeks ago Callum Saunders tiny east London balcony was packed with planters - but not only ones containing flowers or herbs. In an experiment to see just what edible produce he could grow at his small flat in Hackney he filled small containers with rocket plants, lettuces, carrots and runner bean and tomato vines, documenting his micro-agricultural activities on a blog: londonvegetablegarden.blogspot.com.

A Gold Rush In Green Technology
(Bloomberg Businessweek) Like bright sunshine charging up solar panels, investor fervor is fueling the market for public offerings of green companies. Electric automaker Tesla Motors, U.S. green energy producer Ameresco, and Spains T-Solar have filed to go public, and many more are waiting in the wings. Theres renewed appetite for green IPOs, says Luigi Ferraris, chief financial officer of Italian utility Enel, which plans to sell a minority stake of its renewables subsidiary Enel Green Power for $5.4 billion by the end of the year. That would be Europes largest listing since 2007.

Green myths debunked
(Fortune) Americans gulp down 28.5 gallons of bottled water per capita each year discarding billions of plastic containers. Its convenient sure but is it healthier than plain old tap water?