Even before the Energy Information Administration came out with a 102 Bcf storage injection number that was being called the largest post-Labor Day weekly refill ever, the cash market mood was bearish Thursday. Losses at most points were in double digits, with an overall range between about a nickel and nearly 20 cents. The West saw most of the larger declines.

As expected, the large eye of Hurricane Isabel came ashore in early afternoon just south of Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks region of North Carolina. It was expected to keep moving inland over eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia over the next 24 hours, the National Hurricane Center said. Maximum sustained winds were near 100 mph at 1 p.m. EDT, NHC said. “Storm total rainfalls of 6 to 10 inches…with locally higher amounts…are likely in association with Isabel.”

The Weather Channel had a bit of encouraging news for East Coast residents, saying Isabel was morphing into a tropical storm and that it would be “steadily weakening” during its trek through the Mid-Atlantic.

Meanwhile, a cold front that had made a long journey from the Pacific was poised to keep moving eastward and southward, eliminating most of the remaining high temperatures above 80 degrees in the Midwest, Midcontinent and South. Generally chilly weather is reigning from the Pacific Northwest through the Rockies and Upper Plains.

Gas demand was very light in the Mid-Atlantic area, as might be expected, “and they’re only starting to count up the power outages,” said a Gulf Coast marketer.

EIA’s report exceeded virtually all previous expectations and got a negative response at Nymex. The October gas contract fell 17.1 cents.

Prices were falling slowly as the morning went on, and fell even more following the storage release, a Midwest marketer said, citing that as the chief reason why her Consumers Power citygate in the mid $4.60s was nearly a dime lower than an earlier MichCon deal.

A Northeast trader, discounting prospects of the hurricane causing nuclear plant shutdowns, said he expected Isabel to be a negative event for cash prices because of its rains and power outages. Between that, the big storage number, mostly mild to cool weather and lower weekend demand, he said lower prices were almost a certainty Friday.

However, a Gulf Coast marketer wasn’t so sure, saying Thursday’s quotes actually dipped lower than he was expecting. Despite all the negative fundamentals, he saw a chance of flat pricing Friday or even a mild rally after two days of softening.

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