Triple-digit price dives on Dominion and in the Northeast Wednesday were arrayed against an overall mixed market in which few points strayed more than a nickel up or down from flat.

It was easy to see why numbers registered such major plunges in the Northeast. “The sun is out and the snow is starting to melt,” said a utility buyer referring to the holiday weekend blizzard that devastated the region. Citygate prices were still very high but at least they were dropping back to more manageable levels in comparison with recent $10-plus levels, she added.

However, a bullish tendency is likely to be returning as early as Thursday. The utility buyer quoted deals on either side of $7.50 for Iroquois Zone 2 and Texas Eastern M-3 but said both points bounced up to near $8 in late trading. Traders in other markets also noted an upward trend in late prices. That was because despite the midweek respite, a new bout of cold weather will be returning to the Northeast, and to a lesser degree in the Midwest, this weekend. “It’s hard to say at this point” how bad the weekend weather will get, the buyer commented, but it’s likely to have renewed price-boosting effect.

Energy futures gave another hint of rallying prices to come. The natural gas screen rose a little more than 22 cents to settle at $6.134, while the crude oil and heating oil contracts also realized strong gains on expectations of significant inventory declines to be reported Thursday. Crude ended the day above the key psychological level of $37/bbl.

Several traders concurred that Wednesday’s market was somewhat listless. “There was nothing exciting today except these $6-plus screen numbers and the late run-ups that they generated in cash,” commented a western marketer who quoted Transwestern-Permian in the mid $5.30s early but made a late purchase around $5.50.

A Midcontinent trader quoting MRT mainline in the high $6.00s said, “There’s nothing much going on around here for now. We got maybe an inch or two of ‘nuisance’ snow last weekend, but nothing to worry about like back east.”

A Calgary-based producer took some interest in noting that the summer futures contracts were actually trading higher than next winter’s. “That gives you something to think about,” she said. Her intra-Alberta quotes went from the mid C$7.60s early on to the low C$7.80s late. They were rising both in sympathy with the screen and also in anticipation of another sizeable storage withdrawal figure Thursday, the producer said. Wednesday’s weather around Calgary was “pretty nice,” she added, but it was due to go to freezing overnight and stay cold through at least the weekend.

One reason to anticipate a new price rally is that the approaching weekend weather will follow the classic “Nor’easter” track from the Gulf Coast up to New England, according to the National Weather Service. And New York City-based Weather 2000 chimed in: “We remain confident that a net above-normal temperature week will still not be seen for the vast majority of the U.S. (eastern half) for some time to come.”

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