Last week’s sudden jolt upward in spot natural gas prices on anticipation of a cold winter was another indication of the “fickleness” of the market, according to the California Energy Commission’s chief natural gas watcher, Bill Wood, who was dismayed by the latest price swing last Tuesday.

A financial report out of Wall Street citing the prospect of a cold winter caused gas prices to spike by 25% nationwide, causing Wood some consternation now that he is watching prices almost daily to keep state officials advised of trends in the gas market, which became an object of concern this past winter.

“I’m amazed,” Wood said. “In September, prices were well below bid-week prices by 60 to 80 cents. This month they are well above by 40 to 60 cents. If you bought at bid-week last month, you were burned, but if you did it this month, you’re doing great.

“This gas market is so fickle. I have been watching prices daily to put together reports and the reasons given for price changes are ridiculous. The daily `wiggles’ are really `waves’ when you have a 20-cent increase just because someone says it will be cold. People are just looking for excuses to raise prices. But I don’t think there is anything in the market to sustain [the higher prices], so it will drop back down again in a few days. That will happen until we get into the heating season. Storage looks good this year. Some of the fluctuations may be caused by people depending just on flowing gas and husbanding what they have in storage at this point.”

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