Other than slightly warmer trends in the South, weather fundamentals were still light for the gas market as a whole. But as a couple of sources had predicted, the previous day’s 41.4-cent spike by futures was able to propel most points to double-digit gains Tuesday. But continuing issues with excess supply caused a few western locations to be as much as about a nickel lower.

Most points were flat to up about a quarter. NGPL-Amarillo Mainline in the Midcontinent and Dracut in the Northeast joined the rare western declines.

Considering the general dearth of either substantive heating and/or cooling demand, it’s unlikely that the cash market will be able to sustain its rally Wednesday after the July futures contract retreated by 12.9 cents Tuesday (see related story).

PG&E kept a systemwide Stage 2 high-inventory OFO in effect for at least a second day through Wednesday, and El Paso still had a Strained Operating Condition in effect due to high linepack. Despite the constraints, El Paso recorded flat to slightly higher numbers, but the PG&E citygate and Malin fell a few cents.

The hurricane scene remained quiet. The National Hurricane Center noted that an area of low pressure about 400 miles north-northeast of the Azores Islands had “acquired some tropical characteristics,” but gave it a low chance of becoming a tropical storm.

Some colder weather with lows in the 40s is returning in the Rockies and parts of the Midwest, but it’s unlikely to spur any significant surges in heating load. The Northern Natural Gas bulletin board said its normal system weighted temperature at this time of year is 64 degrees but is projected to be 58 Wednesday, 61 Thursday and 60 Friday.

Gradually more of the South is starting to see peak temperatures in the vicinity of 90 degrees, but that budding cooling demand may be squelched soon by predictions of a low-pressure system bringing rain to much of the region’s western end, The Weather Channel said. Warm highs in the low to mid 80s will be extending into the lower Northeast Wednesday, said Weather Central, while the Midwest will cool off a bit but still remain fairly comfortable.

The West should stay cool along the California coast, chilly in the Rockies and Western Canada, warm in the Pacific Northwest and very hot in the desert Southwest, Weather Central said.

Rockies Express (REX) reported receiving approval from FERC to place the Big Hole, Arlington and Bertrand compressor stations into service at the start of the month. The Big Hole station was part of Phase II facilities involved with the REX/Entrega Project, the pipeline said.

The National Weather Service’s six- to 10-day forecast for the June 8-12 workweek calls for below-normal temperatures from the Northeast through all but the southern end of the Midwest into mid-Montana and the eastern Rockies. The agency predicts above-normal readings in nearly all of the lower South from Georgia and Florida as far west as southeastern New Mexico.

Stephen Smith of Stephen Smith Energy Associates said he is looking for a storage build of 118 Bcf to be reported for the week ending May 29, which is up from his previous estimate of 113 Bcf.

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