Some sources figured the screen’s steep drop Friday afternoonwould have a depressing effect on cash numbers Monday, but theyreckoned without the heat that began blanketing the U.S. east ofthe Mississippi River over the weekend and continued through earlythis week.

A majority of points were flat to about a nickel higher, butNortheast citygates were recording double-digit increases inresponse to an East Coast heat wave that was setting hightemperature records for the date, especially in the Middle Atlanticarea. The upticks were led by a gain of more than 30 cents inTransco’s Zone 6-NYC pool, where the top end of the price rangefell just a few cents shy of $4.

“We’re definitely seeing a big increase in air conditioning loadcompared to last week,” said one Northeast trader. “That included alot of intraday calls, and then the Merc really got thingsrolling.” He said the cash market should stay strong through aboutmidweek, ease off for a day or two as the weather moderates, andthen strengthen again as temperatures again head higher around theweekend.

A Texas marketer said an electric utility had told one of hiscolleagues, “We don’t need any gas today, but we’re just fivedegrees away from turning on a gas peaking unit.” The screen was”really screaming,” the marketer said, adding, “The Nymex tradersmust have been feeling the heat.”

A rise of more than 14 cents in the June gas futures contractwas accompanied by strong showings in the crude oil and heating oilfutures pits, with crude finishing the day a little above $28/bbl.

The heat in the East was in sharp contrast to cool weather inthe West. “It’s still pretty hot around Phoenix, but most otherwestern areas are cool to cold,” a marketer said. There was evensnow falling in upper mountain elevations of the Rockies, he said.Except for a dime-plus rise at the PG&E citygate, which hadseen Friday’s biggest decline of about a dime, most western pointsmirrored the overall non-Northeast market with numbers ranging fromflat to up about a nickel.

Western Canada sure switched in a hurry from the relative warmthof last week, according to one Calgary trader. “Here’s how big thechange was,” he said. “I hate to do it, but it’s so cold aroundhere that I’m going to cancel a golf game scheduled for [today].”

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