The previous day’s strength in energy futures, along with a major winter storm poised to keep much of the West wet and cold throughout the weekend, were credited with making prices a mixed bag Friday, instead of the overall softening that some had expected due to moderating weather in the Midwest and Northeast.

Quotes for the weekend ranged from flat to as much as about 30 cents higher or about 15 cents lower, with a slight preponderance of upward movement. The Gulf Coast and Midcontinent/Midwest saw mostly gains, while changes went in both directions in the Northeast and West.

Eastern markets held up firmly for the most part despite the easing of heating load that was expected to extend into this week. The South was due to bask in spring-like highs in the 70s through the weekend, while the Midwest could anticipate welcome relief from the winter storm that struck it in the middle of last week. Parts of the Northeast were expected to continue to receive some freezing precipitation over the weekend before a warming trend gets going in earnest.

While winter was easing its icy grip in the East, it prepared to deal out some serious punishment in the West. A massive storm was expected to stay offshore through the weekend before moving over land Monday, but would be sending evidence of its existence ashore ahead of time. The Southwest was likely to be especially hard hit, according to The Weather Channel. Snow would be measured in feet in some mountain areas, it said, and “some snow will also fall at lower elevations, some of which are a little unaccustomed to snow.”

A Calgary-based producer didn’t need a weatherman to tell him western markets were staying cold. “We’re below zero [Fahrenheit] today,” he said Friday afternoon, but a real test will come Wednesday when the forecast is for minus 20 degrees F. And of course the wind chill will make it even worse, he noted.

The producer said Chicago citygates started near their daily low around $5.80, then moved higher largely in response to screen strength the day before. He theorized that “storage economics” were at work in the citygate’s eventual rise of about a dime. With the February screen at a 20-cent premium to where Chicago traded Thursday and early Friday, and adding in the plus 4 cents Chicago basis that he was hearing for February, “that’s a 24-cent argument” for buying more new production now and leaving your storage in place until next month, the producer explained.

It will be interesting to see how it affects the market through February, depending on whether people are on a forced withdrawal schedule by their storage provider or have the discretion to let it ride, he added.

“Crude is supporting natural gas,” said a Northeast marketer, referring to the February crude oil futures spike of more than $2 Thursday that drove a natural gas futures gain of 21.6 cents. The natural gas screen was “choppy”‘ Friday in swinging up and down several times, he noted. The Northeast can expect moderate weather all of this week, the marketer said, before its next infusion of really cold temperatures that is due around Monday, Jan. 17. Since that’s the Martin Luther King holiday, he said he wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of split-weekend deals next Friday, with a significant amount of Northeast-bound gas being traded for either Monday-only or Monday-Tuesday flows.

Despite the chilly temperatures that had settled into her state Thursday and Friday, a Texas-based trader said, “It’s not cold enough for me.” She added that her desire for colder weather was to support gas prices and sell more product. Prices in the West have some fundamental weather support, she noted, but Thursday’s advances in energy futures were about the only thing she could see keeping prices from going lower again Friday in other market areas.

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