February 4, 2002; Natural Gas and Oil Pricing Holding

Six-year oil price advanced for the second week to $20.97 from $20.51, while six-year natural gas declined to $3.11 from $3.20 after a two-week advance (see Chart).  Present Value of natural gas in three royalty trusts that we cover in weekly detail declined by a median 4%, in line with six-year natural gas.  Considering the unusually warm weather last month east of the Rockies, the commodities are holding up reasonably well.