The cash market went quietly into the Labor Day weekend Friday,registering prices that ranged from flat to down about a dime inmost cases, but sprinkled with scattered upticks (concentrated inthe West) and a Southern California border crash to break up thepattern.

Few people stuck around for very long in the afternoon, traderssaid. That was natural considering how virtually everyone wasrelieved to have wrapped up another bidweek and was anxious to getaway for a long weekend.

The dropoff in demand for a holiday period apparently outweigheda moderately firmer screen and warm to hot weather in much of theEast, where most of the larger declines were clustered, a marketersaid. Prices fell only slightly at the Chicago citygate due tostrong intraday utility buying, she said. Area temperatures wererising to 90 degrees or higher, but were expected to moderate overthe weekend, the marketer added.

Although Waha and Permian averages fell 4 cents on the day, latenumbers experienced a significant run-up, two traders agreed. TheSouthern California border was the day’s big loser with a drop ofabout 30 cents, but Permian and Waha quotes got a big pickup fromelectric utility demand in a scorched Texas, a producer said. Hereported his first Permian sale of the day at $4.53, but said twolater sales were in the $4.70s as substantially more Permian gaswas nominated to flow eastward.

A marketer said power generation demand in California wasrelatively low, but purchases by gas distributors were strong.”They [LDCs] viewed these prices at well below index levels as anexcellent opportunity to inject some gas into the ground,” he said.”Both PG&E and SoCal likely will be at maximum injections thisweekend. I wouldn’t be surprised if SoCal called a high-linepackOFO.” No OFO was in effect for Saturday.

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