Moderating weather, along with screen dive and weekend factor, soften the cash market.

With signs of spring-like weather growing more palpable each day in many areas, it wasn’t surprising to see prices drop at virtually all points Friday. Of course, the futures slide of 18.2 cents a day earlier following a below-expectations storage withdrawal report and the normal decline of industrial demand during a weekend also played a part.

Flat Questar quotes on very thin liquidity were the exception to double-digit losses running from a little more than a dime to nearly 30 cents. Most drops were remarkably consistent in being on either side of 20 cents.

It was dubious whether the scant rally of 1.8 cents by April futures (see related story) would provide much support for Monday’s cash market, since most of the upcoming week’s below-normal temperatures will be spread across the southern tier of states, where mid-March weather is not known to be especially severe.

The latest in a series of winter storms had moved out to sea from the Northeast, leaving relatively moderate temperatures in its wake in most parts of the region. Much of the Midwest also was grateful to see sub-freezing lows in the rear-view mirror going into the weekend.

Although Florida Gas Transmission continued an Overage Alert Day with a tighter imbalance tolerance due to cold forecasts for the Sunshine State (see Transportation Notes), the South in general was anticipating weekend highs on either side of 60 and approaching 70 in some cases. Lows around freezing or lower would remain in the Rockies and Western Canada, but the rest of the West could expect relatively moderate conditions.

Despite weekend lows in the 20s predicted for Calgary and Edmonton, NOVA said there was a potential for an imbalance tolerance change on its system due to high linepack.

A Lower Midwest utility buyer said she, as well as other local citizens, were glad to see an end to the winter approaching, “even though we don’t sell as much gas.” The company had set gas sendout records for the months of December through February, she said. What was a 12-foot pile of snow at the end of her driveway has dwindled to about half of that now, she said.

Although Northern Natural Gas doesn’t officially start storage injections until June, the utility expects to start refilling its liquefied natural gas storage tank sometime during April, the buyer said.

A western trader said he had noted high volumes on either side of 1 Bcf/d in recent days at the PG&E citygate (IntercontinentalExchange recorded a huge drop in trading on its online system there from 1,255,500 MMBtu Thursday to 773, 400 MMBtu Friday). Temperatures on the West Coast have been a little cooler than usual recently, and fairly stormy coastal weather is expected to continue for the next couple of weeks, he said.

The trader said El Nino weather effects have provided plentiful rainfall to California in recent months but not north of there, which is why hydropower is abundant in California but not in the Pacific Northwest.

A Midwest marketer contacted on his cell phone at a Colorado skiing resort said he was not in touch with the daily market, but gleefully noted, “At least there’s still snow in the Rockies.”

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