Most cash points continued their rise yesterday, but thepredominantly bullish sentiment among traders that was evidentearlier in the week showed signs of cracking. Few gains exceededmore than a nickel, while the scattered declining points fell nomore than a penny or two.

Traders agreed that many utilities have been caught off-guard bythe chilly weather that first hit Chicago and the Midwest and thenmoved to its current residence in the Northeast. Intra-day dealshave increased, a Northeast marketer said and those looking for gashave had to pay dearly for it.

While the Midwest is now in a reprieve from the coldtemperatures, that may not last long, one source in the regionsaid. “I get the sense that many utilities went into this monthflat or short, and they’re paying for it now. They were buying lastweek when it was cold, and forecasts are calling for another coldspell later this week. Those who baseloaded their gas are sittingpretty, while those LDC’s in the market are having to pay 25 centsover index for gas from Northern Natural and the Chicagocitygates.”

While prices are up right now, one source said he did not seethem staying at these levels for the rest of the month. “I thinkthe market will start to head down over the next week or two,” hesaid. “Right now, lots of people are away for spring vacations andthings like that. But bidweek is coming up, and they’ll be back forthat. More eyes will be on the market. And more people will berealizing that these [price] levels are awfully hard to justify.”

Multiple sources reported that cash prices followed the futuresscreen up early in the day and then fell when the screen dropped.”We started off strong,” said one Gulf Coast trader. “But when thescreen fell, prices dropped and there was some panic. Toward theend, however, prices leveled off and we registered one- to two-centgains for the day.” Columbia Gulf Mainline increased into the high$3.10s and the Henry Hub nudged up a couple of pennies into the mid$3.10s.

Estimates for the American Gas Association storage report to bereleased today mostly fell in the 10- to 30-Bcf withdrawal range.One source said an injection would be a surprise.

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