No longer following the screen (which fell about a nickel), cash prices managed to forge their own path higher Tuesday. A great majority of gains were in the teens, but several Northeast citygates rose by 20 cents or more, and Florida citygates soared more than half a dollar into the $4.20s. At the opposite end of the price spectrum, Rockies points flattened out as more supply came on line in response to recent price hikes.

Cash firmness was partially a function of leftover momentum from Monday’s advance, traders said, but fundamental support was growing. Spring officially arrives today, but for the northern United States and Canada it will seem more wintry than it was for much of the actual winter. Temperatures are expected to get below zero Wednesday night in the Upper Plains, and similar (albeit milder) post-season blasts of winter are due from the Pacific Northwest through the Midwest and into the Northeast.

Delivered prices in Florida easily reigned again as king of the price mountain. Intraday gas deals got done at $4.40 after Florida Gas Transmission slapped an Overage Alert Day notice (see Transportation Notes) on shippers, a utility buyer said. Maintenance on coal and nuclear units helped boost gas demand in the state, he added.

The weak link in the market chain was the Rockies. Although frigid conditions remain in the Pacific Northwest, moderating weather dominated most of the rest of the West. Also, a marketer said, Opal Plant maintenance is still slated to run through Thursday, but some extra gas in the vicinity managed to find its way around the constraint as suppliers sought to take advance of recent price gains. The Rockies flatness caused its points to widen out significantly in relation to other markets, he said.

A Northeast utility buyer said people in his area pushed prices up in anticipation of even colder weather arriving toward the end of the week. The market area is trading at a premium to April, he added. Transportation variables on Texas Eastern are especially strong currently, the buyer said, “and thus we’re not getting as much value out of our transport as before.” Texas Eastern field numbers also are strong, lagging the screen by just a couple of cents or so, he noted.

An electric utility buyer in the South said he didn’t like buying gas in a rising market, but didn’t have any choice Tuesday with local temperatures getting into the 80s.

After gas prices spent some time at relatively low levels this winter, sources had reported a strong resurgence in demand from heavy feedstock users such as ammonia and fertilizer plants. However, now that prices are substantively back above $3, a fertilizer maker said Tuesday that he had learned from industry acquaintances that at least two fertilizer plants had shut down again due to bad economics. He said his company had a variety of byproducts that made their situation less difficult, but it was having to consider similar action.

A marketer reported doing Chicago deals for April at the NGI index minus a penny, and quoted citygate basis at plus 3.5-4 cents. Swing prices are getting close to a dollar above index, he observed. “A lot of people got burned going short into February, but it seemed a lot safer thing to do for March,” the marketer said. “I guess it wasn’t, though.”

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