In addition to cold weather continuing to pervade much of North America, the cash market got a little extra boost from the return of industrial load from its usual weekend hiatus in recording higher prices at nearly all points Monday.

Sumas, which had spiked as high as $14 last Thursday, continued its descent from such lofty heights by dropping about 95 cents Monday. Along with a decline of about 15 cents at Transco Zone 6-New York, they constituted the only two points left out of gains ranging from a couple of pennies to about $1.10.

After going down 13.5 cents Friday, January futures will provide a bit of support for Tuesday’s cash numbers after rebounding 16.9 cents (see related story).

Averaging in the $5.40 area, Henry Hub saw its premium to prompt-month futures narrow to about 7 cents after being about 37 cents higher on the preceding Friday.

The Weather Channel’s (TWC) headline on its Monday afternoon website forecast, “Arctic chill claims more real estate,” summed up the basis for higher spot gas prices. The gas-hungry Midwest will see the chief effect, with wind chills running from zero to about 30 degrees below zero Tuesday north and west of a line from Chicago to Kansas City to North Platte, NE, TWC said. South and east of that line the wind chills should run from 0 to 20 above, the forecasting service added.

Meanwhile, although a “weak storm” was starting to move out of the Northeast, TWC said, cold air was settling into the region “for an extended stay. For some areas it may be the coldest air of the season thus far.”

Other than in Canada, forecasts of lows around zero or less weren’t quite as plentiful as they had been late last week. However, predictions of sub-freezing Tuesday lows extending into the northern reaches of the South did a lot to make up for the drop in heating load in other areas, and much of the northern U.S. was still due to bottom out around freezing or lower.

Most western points were strong despite Kern River reporting high linepack and Southwest Gas issuing a “Hold Burn to Scheduled Quantities” notice because of high linepack on upstream pipelines (see Transportation Notes).

Despite the continuing blast of cold weather, MRT’s new System Protection Warning and the continuing System Overrun Limitation by Northern Natural Gas were the only two significant cold-related pipeline restrictions.

A Gulf Coast trader said she thinks cash prices will stay mostly firm based on high heating load until around the Christmas weekend. Then the market likely will be soft extending into the following New Year’s Day weekend, she said.

Her home area in North Texas can expect one more day of freezing lows Tuesday, the trader said, but should be thawing out later this week. But she expected the forecasts of frigid weather in northern market areas to keep supporting prices for the most part into next week.

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