In a way the Thursday cash market was much like Wednesday’s — mixed price movement with many points flat or close to it. The big difference was that whereas a majority of quotes were lower the day before, gains predominated Thursday. Cooling trends were due to continue Friday in the Northeast and Rockies (and to a small degree in the Midwest), thus boosting heating load, and Wednesday’s 15.3-cent increase by April futures provided extra support to the cash market Thursday.

Most of the market was flat to about a quarter higher. Losses were small in ranging from 2-3 cents to a little more than a nickel.

The Energy Information Administration reported a 36 Bcf storage withdrawal for the week ending March 21, which was within the range of expectations but less than consensus estimates in the low 40s Bcf. The mild bullishness of the report was barely enough for Nymex traders to move the expiring April futures contract from negative territory prior to the report to a minuscule gain of 0.6 cent on the day.

SoCalGas did not issue a high-linepack OFO notice for Friday (see Transportation Notes) until Tuesday afternoon, which ostensibly was too late to affect cash trading that had ended earlier. Traders may have had some premonitions about the OFO, though, because the Southern California border was one of the day’s few softer points with a drop of a little less than a nickel.

Most of the South will continue to enjoy mild spring conditions Friday, but in some locations such as Little Rock, AR, and Memphis, TN, temperatures will be dropping by as much as 10 degrees. A cool front is expected to return a bit of winter-like chill to most of the region over the weekend.

Although Friday temperatures in the Midwest will only be slightly colder, that region can also expect temperatures to drop further as cooler air spreads from the Upper Midwest into the Ohio Valley as the weekend begins, The Weather Channel (TWC) said. Colder weather will be more pronounced in the Northeast, with snow of 4-6 inches due from New York through New England.

Snow is also in the forecast from a storm system that will sweep through the Northwest into the northern Rocky Mountains Friday into Saturday, TWC said. The rest of the West will remain fairly moderate, with highs reaching the lower 90s in the desert Southwest.

A Northeast utility buyer reported “still colder than normal” weather in his area until a warming trend starts around the middle of next week. The company will be coming out of winter with “reasonable” storage inventory, he said, and didn’t have any trouble reaching mandated season-ending maximum volumes. Although some analysts are predicting that net withdrawals will continue at least through the first week of April, the utility plans to start injecting in early April “when we get a little warmer weather,” he added.

April basis was notably softer than March’s, but not enough to offset the increase in real prices, the buyer continued. Bidweek was routine and supply was readily available, he said.

It’s quiet for now on the transportation front because pipelines haven’t begun their spring maintenance projects or storage field testing yet, he said.

To a Midwestern marketer, it “seemed pretty nice” with temperatures in the 40s Thursday afternoon. In her opinion, all that analyst talk late last year about possibly ending the storage injection season with record volumes turned out to be a lot of hooey. “It’s definitely been a winter, and I hope we don’t have another one like this for another 150 years,” she laughed.

The marketer reported buying delivered Michigan gas for April at basis of plus 32 cents for Consumers Energy and plus 31 cents for MichCon. The company bought quite a bit less baseload than in March because of April’s shoulder month conditions.

A western trader said prices at the PG&E citygate were staying strong so far during bidweek, allowing him to take advantage of “really good spreads” from AECO to the citygate. He figured he was clearing about a nickel in transport costs by buying Alberta gas and moving it to California.

A producer quoted a Panhandle Eastern deal for April done Wednesday at basis of minus $1.18, which he estimated would yield an equivalent fixed price in the mid $8.30s. A Northwest sale at basis of minus $1.5425 would be around $8.03 on a fixed basis, he said, and his company traded a Questar package at $7.74.

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