It’s been a long wait, but traders are finally seeing what theysaid was needed to spark a turnaround in a sagging gas market:genuinely substantial cold weather approaching a major market area.That and continued, albeit moderate, support from the Decemberfutures contract generated cash price increases Thursday rangingfrom a nickel or less in the Rockies and California to between anickel and about 15 cents in the Southwest, Gulf Coast,Midcontinent, Midwest and Appalachia.

Only Northeast citygates failed to realize gains, ranging fromflat to down about a dime. There still is “no weather” in theNortheast, a marketer commented, but there is some approaching theMidwest. Although a snowstorm was still in the Dakotas andweakening a bit Thursday, it was expected to bring coldtemperatures to the previously mild Midwest as early as today.

A Midcontinent producer said he could detect utility demand inthe Midwest “picking up fairly well.” Much like the day before,Midcontinent numbers tended to rise as the morning went on, hesaid.

The producer and other sources said it was a “tough call” onweekend prices, but a majority agreed that between early winterblast in the northern U.S. and a firm screen both Wednesday andThursday, prices today are likely to be flat or a little higher.

Transwestern was still curtailing 400,000 MMBtu/d on a section ofits mainline in northwest New Mexico Thursday (see Daily GPI, Nov. 2). Removal of derailed train carstook till nearly dusk Wednesday, a spokeswoman said, so inspection ofthe line could not begin until Thursday. Service may be able to resumetoday.

Noting that Sonat had ended October with an estimated cumulativesystem imbalance that was 905,670 Dth long, a marketer said, “It’sbest to be short in that situation.” The imbalance got so bigprimarily because prices fell so low in the last week of October”that people started sending gas to fictional places,” he said.”They’d rather sell to Sonat at a $5.12 cash-out [price] ratherthan to somebody else in the $4.50s.” The pipeline got close to anOFO in that last week, but shippers fell in line when threatenedwith a $15 penalty, the marketer said.

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