Weekend cash prices hit a plateau Friday in theMidcontinent/Midwest, Gulf Coast and Appalachia, but softened inthe Northeast and at most western points.

At the end of a week that began with a post-winter storm pushingprices higher in the Northeast, a warming trend was starting togain momentum. That caused most regional citygates to drop betweena nickel and a dime. Warmer temperatures will persist through thiscoming week, one trader said, so expect the softness to continue.

A cold front was moving into the sparsely populated Upper PlainsFriday, but forecasters said its progress towards the south andeast was likely to be very slow or non-existent.

It was hard to find a home for gas in California after PG&Eissued a customer-specific OFO for Saturday (see TransportationNotes), sources said. “There must have been quite a few customersthat got hit with the OFO because the PG&E citygate got beat uppretty bad,” a marketer remarked. Any western gas that could manageit was heading east toward more lucrative pricing, he added.

Slightly higher intra-Alberta numbers also defied the overallwestern softness. Snow in the province ceased for a while Fridaybut was starting up again that afternoon, Calgary traders said.There was quite a bit of disconnect between intraday and weekendprices, one said, reporting intraday numbers about a nickel abovehis weekend deals.

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