After much talk earlier in the week about how weak the cashmarket looks, it must have surprised some traders Wednesday to seeall but a few scattered points range from flat to as much as anickel higher. Between a neutral screen and no change infundamental factors, sources had trouble explaining why Tuesday’sprice skid came to such a quick halt only a day later. A marketersaid he wanted to suggest the “bears” had gone into hibernation,but it was too long before winter begins for that.

Cash numbers seem to be rebounding every day after hittingbottom early, said a Midcontinent/Southwest trader. She thinkspeople are finding “holes” in their storage accounts around thatlow point.

Speaking of storage, the much ballyhooed AGA report Wednesdayafternoon came in below expectations at only 78 Bcf injected lastweek. But that couldn’t have affected cash trading, which had to becompleted earlier in the day. The report didn’t seem to have anyeffect on Access futures trading, a marketer observed.

Power generation load in Northern California likely got a boostafter PG&E’s Diablo Canyon nuclear unit No. 1 tripped offWednesday morning due to a lightning strike. Damage appears to belight, but a prognosis for returning the unit to service won’t beavailable until today, a PG&E spokesman said. The other DiabloCanyon unit is still in full operation. Meanwhile, having shed allof its fossil fuel units to others under the state’s regulatoryrestructuring, PG&E was turning to the California IndependentSystem Operator for make-up electricity.

An electric utility in the South said it hasn’t bought any swinggas all week. Its gas peaking units just weren’t needed in suchmild weather, the gas buyer said.

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