The anticipated big price drops for the Memorial Day weekendshowed up on schedule Friday everywhere except in Canada. Declinesof a dime or more were common at nearly all points. Only theAppalachian pipes and a few in Louisiana managed to hang on over $2in the producing areas. Chicago and Michigan citygates fell about15 cents into the mid to high $2.00s, and Northeast citygates weredown about a dime into the low to mid $2.20s.

One trader reported a Transco Zone 6-NYC purchase at $2.22 forSaturday through Tuesday, but a Tuesday-only package at the samepoint cost a nickel extra. “You always pay a little premium forone-day-only deals connected with a long weekend,” he commented.However, it all depends on whether the buyer or seller makes thefirst call, he went on. “If it’s somebody that has to get rid ofthe gas for that one day and they call you, you get a discount.”

Intra-Alberta prices continued to run contrary tosouth-of-the-border markets. Trades went as high as C$1.72 beforedropping back to average around C$1.67, about C6 cents up for theday, a marketer said. NOVA linepack was low and continuing to dropFriday, the marketer added, although he doesn’t expect thatcondition to last past the weekend. Sumas, flat to slightly softerin the mid to high US$1.30s, also defied the general softness.However, Sumas would have fallen further if turnaround maintenanceat Westcoast’s McMahon Plant wasn’t still keeping about 150 MMcf/doff the market, one trader told Daily GPI.

A mild PG&E OFO for Saturday (see Transportation Notes)resulted in a large 16-cent range at Malin but a drop of only abouta dime in the average. Southern California border quotes took abigger plunge of about 15 cents to the $2 area. A producer saidSoCal Gas had announced there would be no formal OFO (called anOvernomination Day by SoCal) for the weekend, but “as available”transportation would be cut.

With essentially no place to call home, gas in the Rockies andSan Juan dropped by a little over a dime to the $1.60 and $1.70areas respectively.

June business remained “dead” as far as a Texas source wasconcerned; “nobody is working that [June] market yet.” Most tradersconcurred, but a couple reported doing fixed-price June dealsFriday around $1.85 into El Paso-Permian and for $1.39 at Sumas.The Sumas price reflects good May-June convergence, the sourcesaid. New basis talk Friday included both MichCon and ConsumersPower at plus 11.5-12, Chicago at plus 8-9 and ANR Southeast atminus 7.5.

©Copyright 1998 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. Thepreceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, inwhole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent ofIntelligence Press,Inc.