As a marketer had predicted a day earlier, a majority of the cash market was able to continue ascending Tuesday — but by considerably smaller amounts (except in the rebounding Rockies) than on Monday. In addition, there were more flat to softer points as cooling trends began to reduce power generation demand in key northern market areas.

Most points (primarily in the Gulf Coast, Midcontinent and Rockies) ranged from flat to about 35 cents higher. Northeast citygates topped declines that ran from a couple of pennies to down nearly 35 cents.

One source said Tuesday’s 28.9-cent rebound by August futures likely would keep prices rising in the areas where heat levels remain high, but not in regions like the Northeast and Midwest where temperatures were expected to moderate Wednesday.

Despite the Pacific Northwest taking over as the market’s newest hot spot (still ranking behind the triple-digit temperatures of the desert Southwest, of course), the region’s three primary pricing points — Kingsgate, Stanfield and Sumas — saw small declines of less than a nickel. Portland, OR, was due to repeat Tuesday’s high in the upper 90s Wednesday after having peaked at only 87 degrees Monday.

Instead it was the Rockies market that benefited from the new source of cooling load. That was despite Denver and Cheyenne, WY, having forecast highs Wednesday of 87 and 77, respectively.

It was one of those head-scratching events. Malin and the PG&E citygate had managed to rise Monday when a high-inventory OFO would be in effect the next day, but both fell about a nickel Tuesday when no OFO was scheduled for Wednesday and highs would still be in the 90s in inland Northern California.

Meanwhile, the Northeast could expect some relief to begin Wednesday after two days of hitting the upper 80s and lower 90s. Rain and thunderstorms (“some severe”) would gradually replace hot, sticky air with refreshingly cooler breezes, The Weather Channel said, although the weather regime change won’t be complete across the entire region until later Thursday.

A rainy cold front will limit high temperatures in the South east of the Mississippi River, but the region’s western end is getting quite a bit hotter now that a persistent string of rain almost every day has come to end. Highs will be in the 90s Wednesday virtually throughout Texas, creating a noticeable increase in power generation load.

The Midwest was a mixed bag. Prices were up a little more than a dime at the Chicago citygate and Alliance deliveries despite Chicago’s forecast going from a high of 89 Tuesday to 78 Wednesday. Dawn, ANR ML-7 and the two Michigan citygates were more responsive to the approaching cooldown with flat to a nickel lower quotes.

“One of our suppliers said prices went up Tuesday because it had stopped raining in Texas,” said a utility buyer in the South half-jokingly. Of course, air conditioning use was rising in his company’s service area too. He said the utility will continue “very mild” storage injections through the rest of July.

The buyer noted that Henry Hub and the August screen had been only a penny apart Monday, but it looked like the Hub was falling about a quarter behind Tuesday. A lot of people trade based on the differential between Henry Hub and prompt-month futures. If the Hub goes “way below the screen,” they sell the futures and buy cash gas; then they come back again when cash gets strong enough and do the opposite, hoping to make a profit along the way, he said.

The dog days of summer have definitely arrived in the South, the buyer continued, so his advice is, “Hang in there and stay cool!”

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