Ignoring a general lack of hot weather fundamentals, cash traders chose instead to concentrate on other factors in sending prices skyrocketing by 20-50 cents amid huge volatility Thursday. The key market stimulants were AGA’s report of a shockingly low 3 Bcf storage injection last week, which had been met by widespread skepticism; the screen’s corresponding spike Wednesday afternoon (although futures were softer Thursday morning); and the rapid development and speed of Tropical Storm Chantal in the Atlantic.

However, quotes were tumbling in late activity in virtually all areas, sources said. They attributed the delayed weakness to expectations by many that AGA was preparing to change the volume in its report to a higher number; a marketer said he was hearing anticipation of a revision to 54 Bcf. But the association decided to stand pat, another trader said. “In effect, they were telling us, `What you see is what you get.'”

A Gulf Coast marketer who counted himself among the many storage report doubters said he’s suspicious that rather than try to patch this week’s figure, AGA will spread a “correction” out in reports over the next few weeks. A Chicago trader was a bit more stoic, saying, “If that’s what AGA says the injection was, I guess we’ll have to live with it.”

Chantal, which was upgraded to a named tropical storm early Thursday, was speeding westward and expected to be moving Thursday night through the Windward Islands, where storm warnings had been declared, the National Weather Service said. “Chantal could become a hurricane in a day or two,” NWS added.

One marketer reported a Chicago citygate average in the low $3.40s, up about 40 cents despite mild temperatures in the Windy City area. Some Midcontinent field numbers were even higher, she said. However, it was an extremely volatile market as prices “started off strong, but everything tended to crash near the end.” That’s why her Panhandle Eastern and ANR-Southwest quotes rose only to the high $3.20s while OGT and Williams averaged in the vicinity of $3.40. “It was all a matter of deal timing,” the marketer said.

Western numbers also were sharply higher, said another source. San Juan prices in both the Blanco and Bondad pools exceeded $3 after averaging in the mid to high $2.50s Wednesday, he said. Rockies quotes were running a little shy of $3, and the PG&E citygate in the mid $3.70s maintained a lead of about 20 cents over border-SoCalGas.

A Calgary source quoted intra-Alberta swing prices in the C$4.50s but said he had seen one deal get as low as C$4.00 in an online trading service. He said provincial prices for September ranged from the high C$4.00s to the mid C$4.30s.

A Houston-based trader declined to speculate on today’s market direction. “Things are so volatile between the storm and the storage controversy that I have no idea which way prices will move,” he said.

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