Essentially nothing had changed in the fundamental demandpicture Tuesday, and late-November cash prices responded with verylittle change themselves. Minuscule softness dominated at mostpoints, and the few declines rarely exceeded a nickel. Sources indiverse regions continued to report unseasonably mild temperatures.

A close-to-last-minute rebound in the expiring December futurescontract occurred too late to have any impact on incrementaltrading, but it did cause some upward jolt in bidweek trading,sources reported. The uptick didn’t last long as prices started to”trickle back down” shortly after the Nymex expiry, but they wereleveling off again in the late afternoon, a marketer said.

The screen run-up appeared to light a fire under what had beenfairly moribund bidweek action up until that point, a couple oftraders agreed.

Chicago was trading at $2.20 for December early in the morningbut quickly moved up to the mid $2.20s, according to one trader.Citygates got as high as the low $2.30s as Nymex was closing outbut then settled down to about $2.29, he said. Similarly Michigancitygates moved up from the $2.30 area to the mid $2.30s, othertraders said.

A marketer reporting $2.15-20 ranges for both Malin and Sumassaid the unusual semi-parity [Malin was a dime above Sumas inNovember indexes] was due more to strength at Sumas than to anyMalin weakness. However, another trader saw Sumas softer in the low$2.10s.

The Rockies in general were being reported in the $2.03-06range. In the Midcontinent, ANR and Panhandle were reported in thehigh $2.00s, with NGPL lagging slightly in the mid $2.00s. Amarketer said he was trading the Southern California border at$2.30.

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