After the screen had registered a plunge of 42 cents-plus theday before, it failed to surprise cash traders when their numbersalso fell big-time Tuesday. However, prices were trending higher astrading proceeded, largely due to futures that opened lower butrecovered to finish the day nearly a nickel higher.

The screen had a wide range of slightly more than a quarter($3.96-$4.22), and that influenced some hefty ranges in cash also,sources said. Price drops ranged from lows of around a quarter tohighs of around 35 cents, with those in the vicinity of 30 centsbeing most common.

Several traders concurred that the cash market likely will seelittle new movement up or down today. Instead, people will want towait and see what the AGA storage report is like this afternoon andhow Nymex reacts, they said. New estimates of injection figuresranged from as low as 55-60 Bcf to as high as 85 Bcf; most centeredaround 70 Bcf.

Except for heat in the producing states of Louisiana, Texas,Oklahoma and the desert Southwest, weather isn’t much of asignificant factor in the market right now, a Houston-basedproducer said. He called it a “sluggish” market as many people cameout of the weekend in long supply positions with little weatherdemand for their gas. An Oklahoma marketer agreed, saying currenttemperatures generally were milder than what had been predicted.

Katy was trading only a couple of pennies above Waha Tuesday,destroying the economics for moving gas eastward from Waha. It washeat in the Southwest and somewhat short supplies that kept Waharelatively strong, a marketer said.

Pre-bidweek action is almost nil as traders wait for one morestorage report before moving ahead. However, a Midcontinent tradersaid July basis was weakening a bit, pegging Panhandle Eastern atminus 18-16.5, Chicago at plus 7-8 and Waha at minus 10-12.

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