Getting no signals from the futures trading pit, thelate-January cash market saw mild softening Tuesday. With snowyconditions covering the northwestern quadrant of the U.S., Westernpoints again tended to be flat to off no more than a penny or two.However, they were joined in small dips by several Gulf Coast andMidcontinent pipes, and Michigan citygates even managed to eke outmodest gains.

The screen was a “major non-event,” as one Gulf Coast marketerput it, and temperatures “warming up all over the place” in theeastern half of the nation caused the overall downticks. He doesn’texpect any price support from this afternoon’s storage report,”which should not be bullish at all.”

Incremental January activity was already starting to fade in themonth’s waning days. Although February trading still hadn’tprogressed much beyond indexing and basis, sources reported bidweekprices looking slightly stronger Tuesday than they had been Monday.Michigan citygate basis rose almost 2 cents to plus 9-11 for bothMichCon and Consumers, according to a marketer. She thought it wasdue to a perception that transport capacity out of the Midcontinentmay be a bit tight next month.

Another sign of a small February uptrend was a marketerreporting intra-Alberta deals at C$2.25 on Monday and C$2.28 onTuesday.

But another trader was quite bearish about Gulf Coast prices forFebruary. He was seeing “absolutely no incremental demand” frommany utilities in the Northeast and Ohio Valley, and said severalwere telling him they plan to be on storage and term gas “all 28days of February.” A Texas power generator doesn’t expect to buyany baseload, expecting very light load.

A marketer who was hearing Sumas in the high $1.70s and Malin inthe mid $1.70s considers it just an “accident” that Sumas isrunning slightly above the downstream point. There’s no fundamentalreason for it, he said.

Among the few fixed prices surfacing were Malin at $1.75,Southern California border at $1.85-88 and PG&E citygate at$1.99-2.03. One source reported hearing the low $1.60s for theRockies in general. Basis deals were quoted at minus 2.5 forCarthage and minus 1.5 for Transco Zone 2.

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