As many traders had expected, the moderation of cold weather ineastern markets and the screen’s expiration-day dive were enough todrive the late-March swing market sharply lower in nearly all casesThursday. Only new increases at the Southern California border andPG&E citygate defied the overall downtrend.

“It [March aftermarket] didn’t exactly come in like a lion, butit sure is going out like a lamb,” remarked one source.

Most of the price drops were 20 cents or greater. San JuanBasin, Malin and the Pacific Northwest were relatively rare infalling about a dime or less.

Several traders said prices tended to go lower as the morningwent on in response to continued futures softness.

A large majority of Thursday’s swing trading was for gas flowsthrough Saturday. Several sources credited EnronOnline, which beganthe morning featuring only two-day offers, with popularizing theidea of closing out most end-of-March trading a day early. It madesense operationally, said one marketer. “It was easier to finish upMarch today [Thursday] and then focus on April swing on Friday.”

An electric utility buyer reported buying some of his gas fortoday only at first, but went along when the supplier called backlater to suggest extending the deal through Saturday. “I was afraidI might have trouble Friday finding enough uncommitted supplies forthe 31st since nearly everybody seemed to be trading for two days,”he said.

For a western trader, the most conspicuous market aspect in thelast few days “was the enormous spread between Malin and thePG&E citygate,” which continued to widen Thursday. With Malinbelow $6 and the citygate above $10, “you could drive a truckthrough it,” she commented. Such a gap is quite a difference fromthe $0.70 maximum rate plus fuel for Redwood Path capacity, thetrader noted. It was hard to understand because “the demand is justnot there to support that type of price at the citygate. In fact,demand is so weak right now with mild weather that people areactually injecting gas into storage.”

A decline of nearly 18 cents in the May futures contract on itsdebut as prompt month was taking April bidweek numbers down with itin most markets. An end-user who paid in the high $5.30s for aHouston Ship Channel package early Thursday said he wished he hadwaited for a subsequent downturn.

A marketer said there still seemed to be a lot of April gasstill unsold Thursday, so he’s expecting a weak aftermarket, atleast in the initial going. Another trader tended to agree, sayinga lot of people appeared to be going into the month short, and hesupposed it was because they expect aftermarket softness. However,”I kind of think that’s a bad gamble,” he added. “I’d expecttraders to want to inject a lot of storage during April beforesummer weather starts pushing prices much higher again.”

SoCal border prices were bid and offered in the $10-12 area inthe first two days of bidweek, but many market participants doubtthat much got done there, according to an aggregator. “None of thegenerators or pipeline transporters that I talk with have admittedto doing much business Monday and Tuesday, and brokers echo thatsentiment,” he said. Border numbers into the SoCalGas system werearound $14 as of Thursday, another trader noted, but gas going intoPG&E was “way back” around $8. That spread had been tighterearlier in the bidweek cycle, though, when border-SoCal prices werearound $11, she added. Fueled by a steady flow of utility buying,PG&E citygate deals moved up to the $10.50-11.15 rangeThursday, she said.

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