Generally moderate weather predictions, such as the Chicago area reaching the low to mid 50s Tuesday, didn’t suggest any likelihood of spot prices increasing Monday. But cash traders either thought otherwise or were looking ahead to near the end of the week, when cold fronts would be moving into such areas as the Midwest.

The previous Friday’s 8.2-cent gain by February futures and the restoration of full industrial demand following its typical weekend dip were additional supporting factors for the cash market.

Several points were flat while the rest recorded gains ranging from 2-3 cents to about half a dollar. Although approximately half of the upticks were in double digits, it was again the volatile Northeast where most of the largest increases occurred.

The cash market will not be able to count on screen support again Tuesday after the prompt-month contract fell 5.1 cents (see related story).

Heavy rainstorms Monday limited highs in the western South to merely cool, and the storms’ moving eastward would have much the same effect in the eastern half of the South. And though parts of the Midwest, especially the north-central section, may still be seeing date-specific record highs through Tuesday, much of the region can expect blustery and colder conditions with some snow showers after midweek, The Weather Channel (TWC) said.

Snow showers will already be dusting upstate New York and northern New England by Tuesday, TWC said. However, temperatures five to 15 degrees above normal will be dominant to the south in the Mid-Atlantic. And thermometer readings as low as the teens, single digits and occasionally below zero will be felt in parts of the Rockies by Wednesday, according to the AccuWeather.com posting on Kern River’s bulletin board.

The Henry Hub-CIG basis spread tightened to about 3 cents Monday after having the Hub topping CIG by 13 cents as recently as Friday.

While rising in price by about 15 cents, the Southern California border made a hefty jump in volumes traded on the IntercontinentalExchange platform — up from 381,700 MMBtu Friday to 682, 500 MMBtu Monday.

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