The weekend cash market followed the script written for it byfalling between between a nickel and just over a dime at nearly allpoints Friday. It was a “typical” low-demand period phenomena,according to one marketer; another, phrasing it slightlydifferently, called it “just the usual weekend blowout.”

But though the general softening was hardly a shocker to anyone,some were surprised at the ability of a few points to reverse fieldin late activity. The only thing that gave any support to GulfCoast and Northeast prices was Henry Hub cash trading higher nearthe end, one source said. The highly volatile San Juan-Blanco pool(range of 20 cents) was another rebound example.

A trader who saw Columbia-Appalachia start moving up from the$2.30s into the $2.40s after 10:30 a.m. thought it was due to “moreroom in storage than people thought” and the rumored contemplationof OFOs by utilities Delmarva Power & Light, Baltimore Gas& Electric and Cincinnati Gas & Electric. However, no OFOsactually materialized, he said.

Forecasts of hotter weather, mostly in the eastern three-fourthsof the U.S., have most traders expecting a moderate to strong priceupswing this week. The dwindling storage surplus and a 4-centscreen gain Friday-which went against the grain of the cashweakness-enhanced the predictions of higher prices. Also, anotherreason for bullishness is that July crude oil futures climbed backabove $17/bbl Friday, one source noted.

“A lot of people thought prices would be off more than they weretoday [Friday], especially in the West,” said the head of westerntrading for a major aggregator. He thought the market showed quitea bit of resiliency, “especially in light of no UEG [utilityelectric generation] load in California.” It was quite a wild ridein San Juan Basin, the trader said, where Blanco numbers got downto the mid $1.80s at one point but were back above $2 near the endof trading. People don’t seem to be keeping pace with storageinjections in western markets, he said. Thus with currently coolweather in the region dampening gas prices, he expects a strongrebound “when it warms up.” Intra-Alberta defied the overall weakermarket with a small increase Friday, which a marketer attributed totrading that goes on all day; “thus it [intra-Alberta] had a longertime to be influenced by the screen’s rise.”

A Texas buyer had intended to stay out of the market, but saidit was just too tempting to pass up when Houston Ship Channel, Katyand Carthage numbers fell almost a dime into the mid to high$2.20s.

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