Neither the American Gas Association (AGA) storage report of a25 Bcf withdrawal nor a supportive morning futures screen couldlift cash prices yesterday, as most points stayed within a coupleof pennies on either side of flat.

Traders’ reactions to the AGA report of a 25 Bcf withdrawal weremixed. While some felt it was slightly bullish, other said it fellexactly in line with where they thought it would be. One Gulf Coastbuyer said the storage situation looks grim. “People better startinjecting soon. There are very few storage arbitrage opportunitiesright now and the longer people wait, the worse its going to get.”

Weather in the major market areas of the country was nothing towrite home about, one source said, as temperatures in the 50s and60s engulfed much of California, the Chicago area and New York.

“There just wasn’t any direction [yesterday],” said oneMidcontinent marketer. “There’s no weather and the screen made asmall push this morning, but that didn’t really do much. I thinkthe storage report is bullish, but prices are so high that I thinkthe positions were just solidified by the news, not raised.”

A Northeast buyer said summer demand still has players in thatregion on edge. “Storage is low, and with all the new powergeneration scheduled to come online this summer, people are justspooked. It’s supposed to get a little warmer next week, so I’mspeculating prices will fall as much as a dime because of that.Still, we’re way above average for this time of year.” Last year atthis time, Transco Zone 6 (New York) prices were in the mid $2.30s.They traded in the $3.50s yesterday.

On the other side of the country, the lack of direction pushedPG&E citygate prices to the softer side, said one Californiamarketer. He quoted packages trading in the mid $3.10s yesterday,as opposed to the high $3.10’s a day earlier.

Rockies points were no different from the rest of the country,as Northwest Domestic and Sumas dropped a couple of cents.

Alberta prices did not escape the softening, as prices trendeddown from C$3.94 in the morning to C$3.905 at the end of trading, asource said. The weather has gotten “nice” in the past couple ofdays, she added, and that coupled with a falling futures screen hasweakened prices in the region.

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