The August aftermarket got off to a fairly strong start Tuesday. Most points ranged from about a nickel to as much as a quarter above end-of-July numbers, although a few scattered points registered moderate declines. Advances over apparent August indexes also ranged from just a few cents to more than 20 cents in many cases, but the Rockies/San Juan market tended to be as much as half a dollar over index on several pipes.

Widespread hot weather was again the primary driver of the market, as Chicago remained under an excessive heat watch. Most of the U.S. from the Rockies eastward is experiencing above normal temperatures. A Northeast utility buyer said his region is still relatively mild with highs no greater than the mid 80s, but added that thermometer readings in the 90s are due by Thursday.

The price-boosting influence of a couple of Atlantic tropical disturbances was fading quickly. The one moving toward the southeastern Bahamas was less organized than it had been Monday, and development was expected to be slow if it happens at all, one forecasting service said. The low-pressure system much farther out in the mid-Atlantic also had weakened and was considered unlikely to develop further.

Western markets generally were on the quiet side, but a couple of sources remarked on the unusual amount of Opal volatility. The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) online trading service was offering Opal for a while in the $2.50-61 range, according to a producer, but then rival EnronOnline (EOL) posted offers at $2.12. Some traders with quick mouse fingers snapped up a lot of gas at that level, but that generated a quick and substantial rally that eventually got Opal quotes up to the $3 area, he said. The producer added, “One big Houston player likes Opal to be short, and another [big Houston player] actually is way short there,” and that situation played a large part in the volatile runup.

In the little amount of August bidweek trading that remained to be done Tuesday, prices saw little change from Monday in eastern markets, one source said. But a western trader reported a slight firming tendency in the West despite the screen’s loss of a little more than a nickel.

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